Politics
Biden DOJ Drops Campaign Financing Crages Against Sam Bankman-Fried
The US Justice Department District Attorney’s Office in New York has dropped illegal campaign financing charges of over $40 million against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried due to extradition complications involving the Bahamas, where Bankman-Fried was arrested.
Assistant US Attorney Thane Rehn said in the letter that officials in the Bahamas had advised the US government that they “did not intend to extradite the defendant on the campaign contributions count.”
“Accordingly, in keeping with its treaty obligations to The Bahamas, the Government does not intend to proceed to trial on the campaign contributions count,” Rehn stated.
Bankman-Fried’s defence attorneys, Mark Cohen and Christian Everdell of Cohen & Gresser, had previously requested to dismiss the charge because it was not mentioned in the warrant of surrender issued by Bahamian officials during his extradition procedure.
The US Attorney’s Office successfully argued that Bankman-Fried “knowingly and voluntarily consented to extradition and trial on this charge.”
When denying Bankman-Fried’s motion to dismiss, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan of the Southern District of New York also directed the government to keep him updated on any developments in the Bahamas. In his letter on Wednesday, Rehn mentioned that instruction.
Due to unresolved legal concerns in the Bahamas, Kaplan approved prosecutors’ request in June to detach numerous other counts from Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial, which is planned for early October.
Unlike the campaign finance allegation, which was included in Bankman-Fried’s original indictment, the severed counts were all included in superseding indictments after his extradition.
Brendan Quigley, a Baker Botts associate and former assistant U.S. attorney who handled extradition cases in the Southern District of New York, said he doubted the government’s decision not to pursue the campaign funding charge will impair its proof at trial.
This is “one of the challenges for the government of charging a very broad indictment with a lot of different theories,” according to Quigley.
Quigley added that, while the SDNY has a “well-oiled extradition process” with certain nations, such Colombia, where drug-related extraditions have occurred for decades, the Bahamas is most likely not one of them.
“Like any job, you grow incredibly good at the stuff you do on a regular basis… “[Extraditing from] the Bahamas on a securities fraud, campaign finance fraud, FCPA theory is pretty unique, and you can see how, whether on the Bahamian end or the US end, something like this might have needed to be clarified,” he said.
Bankman-Fried’s defence attorneys did not respond to requests for comment through a spokesman.
Prosecutors had submitted their first request for Bankman-Fried’s detention earlier in the day Wednesday, citing worries that his extrajudicial public statements could constitute witness harassment and taint the jury pool.
Sam Bankman Fried’s solicitors claimed that their client should stay under home arrest so that he can access papers and prepare for trial. Following an hour-long hearing, Kaplan ordered an interim gag order to allow for additional information on the matter.
In the 2022 election cycle, Sam Bankman-Fried gave approximately $40 million to Democratic lawmakers.
Bankman-Fried’s money, according to public records, mostly supported Democratic committees and candidates. He gave $6 million to the House Majority PAC, which is the largest outside group that supports House Democrats. He also provided the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee $250,000 and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee $66,500.
The majority of his political contributions — $27 million — went to the “Protect Our Future PAC,” which advocates for pandemic preparedness.
The “Protect Our Future PAC” spent $24.2 million on independent expenditures (mailers, advertisements) to assist 19 Democratic House candidates, including Georgia Rep. Lucy McBath and newly elected Florida Reps. Maxwell Frost and Jasmine Crockett. Carrick Flynn, who ran unsuccessfully for Congress in the Democratic primary in Oregon, received $10 million in outside funding from the “Protect Our Future PAC.”
Candidates are not allowed to have any say or knowledge of outside entities spending on independent expenditures to promote or oppose them under federal campaign finance law.
Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota, a Democrat, received $5,800 from Bankman-Fried this year. According to her office, she has already given those campaign funds to Planned Parenthood North Central States.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana who is up for re-election in 2026, gave him $5,800 in August 2021. According to Cassidy spokesperson Ty Bofferding, the campaign will not hold the money and will “contribute the funds to an appropriate cause.”
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat, received $5,800 from Bankman-Fried in June 2022. Bankman-Fried also donated $10,000 to the “Gillibrand Victory Fund” joint fundraising initiative. According to Evan Lukaske, a spokesman for Gillibrand, she contributed the monies to Arriva, Inc., an organisation based in New York City’s Bronx borough “that aims to promote individual wealth and economic development in low-to-moderate income communities.”
According to a spokeswoman, Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a Democrat from New Jersey, will donate the $5,800 he got to charity. According to his office, Sen. Alex Padilla of California gave the contributions he received last month.
According to Bloomberg, two prominent Democrats, incoming House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, received contributions from Bankman-Fried and plan to give the monies.
Bankman-Fried contributed $5,800 to Maine Sen. Susan Collins’ campaign on various occasions. In September and October of 2021, she returned extra donations, citing contribution limits. Collins’ campaign plans to donate the remainder of Bankman-Fried’s donations to charity, according to a spokesman. In March 2021, Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego, a probable Senate candidate in Arizona in 2024, refunded an excess gift from Bankman-Fried.
Sam Bankman-Fried’s campaign finance charge DROPPED

Politics
Millennials in Canada Have Turned their Backs on Justin Trudeau

Justine Trudeau and his Liberal Party are currently engaged in a fierce battle for second place against Jagmeet Singh’s socialist NDP, as both parties find themselves trailing by 20 points behind Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives.
A recent poll indicates that 38% of Canadians consider Trudeau to be the most ineffective leader the nation has encountered in over fifty years. An impressive 47% of Canadian Millennials indicated they would support Poilievre if an election were to take place today, while nearly half of all Canadians express a desire for an election to be called this year.
Pierre Poilievre’s strong appeal among young voters can be attributed primarily to economic factors: soaring inflation, a pressing cost-of-living crisis, and the challenge of housing affordability are pushing many away from the Liberals, who have held power for nearly nine years.
According to UnHeard, Millennials are increasingly distancing themselves from Trudeau due to his stringent measures aimed at controlling the internet to combat alleged disinformation, as well as his climate change initiatives, notably the carbon tax.

Protest in downtown Toronto against mass immigration on Canada Day – TNC Image
An increasing number of Canadians are becoming aware of Trudeau’s ineffective policies and his approach to mass immigration. This past summer, there was significant outrage among parents of teenagers and young adults as they observed their children remaining at home without jobs.
The primary concern stemmed from the fact that most low-skilled and entry-level positions were being filled by unskilled, temporary foreign workers, predominantly from India.
There has been a notable rise in criminal activities linked to international students and unvetted temporary residents who are becoming involved with Punjabi gangs in Canada, contributing to a surge in auto thefts nationwide.
Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives are actively seeking to alter Trudeau’s approach to mass immigration and prioritize the construction of more housing should they come into power.
Significantly, Pierre Poilievre is perceived as more trustworthy than Trudeau, with over half of Canadians characterizing Poilievre as “open and honest about his actions, decisions, and intentions,” while only 39% share that sentiment regarding Trudeau.
The characteristics in question may shed light on Poilievre’s favorable polling, particularly among younger voters and women, who have historically leaned towards the Liberals or the NDP rather than the Conservatives.
The Liberal Party’s support has dwindled to an estimated 7% of Canadians, revealing a significant number of disillusioned voters eager for transformation. Poilievre is emerging as the type of leader that resonates with the desires of many Canadians.
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Politics
U.N. Special Rapporteur Calls on Thailand’s Banks to Cut-Off Myanmar Junta

The U.N special rapporteur for human rights in Myanmar has said the Bank of Thailand, commercial banks, and the anti-money laundering office are working on measures to stop the Myanmar Junta from acquiring weapons through Thailand’s banking system.
Tom Andrews the U.N. special rapporteur for human rights in Myanmar, said that some banks commercial in Thailand had aided Myanmar Junta’s by facilitating transactions that supplied military equipment to the Junta through the international banking system.
He called on the Bank of Thailand and financial institutions to do more to stop Myanmar’s junta acquiring weapons which they use on civilians to maintain power.
The special rapporteur was in Bangkok to address a parliamentary committee on security, he called on the Thai government to stop financial transactions that help supply weapons to Myanmar’s junta in line with a plan promoted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that sets out an end to violence as a first step toward peace.
In his 2023 report “The Billion Dollar Death Trade,” Andrews noted that Singapore had implemented a clear policy opposing the transfer of weapons to Myanmar.

Thai Baht – File Image
Thailand’s Banks Lacked Clear Policy
As a result, exports of weapons and related materials from Singapore-registered entities using the formal banking system dropped from almost U.S. $120 million in fiscal year 2022 to just over $10 million over the next 12 months.
However, he said Thailand had no explicit policy position opposing weapons transfer to the Myanmar Junta, which saw exports from Thai-registered entities more than double in 2023, from just over $60 million to nearly $130 million.
He called on Thai Government to conduct a thorough investigation into transfers as Singapore had done into its companies’ dealings.
Andrews told the the committee that five Thai commercial banks and Thai-based companies were assisting Myanmar’s junta obtain weapons, dual-technology items and jet fuel, enabling Military Junta to conduct atrocities against the people.
But said he had found no evidence that the Thai government was involved or was aware of the transactions or that Thai commercial banks had knowledge.

Photo courtesy of The Nation
Banks Condemn Myanmar Junta Violence
Meanwhile representatives from Thailand’s central bank, anti-money laundering office and the commercial banks named in the report were also present at the parliamentary meeting at government house in Bangkok.
A representative of the Bank of Thailand said officials were working with the commercial banks and the anti-money laundering office to make sure that enhanced oversight was properly practiced.
The Thai Bankers Association that was also at the parliamentary meeting said it did not have the means to investigate and monitor such irregularities beyond Thailand’s borders.
Mr. Pongsit Chaichatpornsuk, a Thai Bankers Association representative told the committee that If government security agencies tell us, we will stop transactions. We don’t support arms procurement by Myanmar Junta or any military government to violate human rights.
Thailand, which shares a long border with Myanmar and hosts many thousands of refugees fleeing conflict there, has tried to promote dialogue between Myanmar’s military rulers and opposition forces but no progress has been made.
This Article was first published in RFA
Politics
People Rushing Sign Online Petition to Impeach South Korea’s President Crash Site

The Speaker of the National Assembly of South Korea said in a statement that an online petition calling for South Korea’s President Mr. Yoon Suk-yeol’s impeachment crashed due to the enormous number of individuals attempting to sign the petition. Saying the National Assembly would resolve the matter as quickly as possible.
Since the petition was launch on the National Assembly’s website on June 20, more than 811,000 people have signed it. The petition urges Parliament to introduce legislation to impeach President Yoon on the grounds that he is unfit for office.
Late on June 30, National Assembly Speaker Mr. Woo Won-shik issued an apology for the disturbance and stated that Parliament would take action to protect the public’s fundamental rights.
People attempting to access the petition on July 1 experienced delays of up to four hours. At one point, an error message indicated that more than 30,000 individuals were waiting to access the site.
South Korea’s Parliament Hesitant
The online petition accuses Yoon of corruption, escalating the risk of conflict with North Korea, and endangering South Koreans’ health by failing to prevent Japan from leaking treated radioactive water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear power plant.
By law, Parliament must assign every petition signed by more than 50,000 people to a committee, which will then decide whether to put it to a vote in the assembly.
However, the opposition Democratic Party, which has a majority in Parliament, is hesitant to turn the petition into an impeachment bill, according to media reports, with a spokesperson stating that the party has yet to address the topic.
The Parliament can impeach a president with a two-thirds majority. The Constitutional Court then deliberates the motion and decides whether to remove or reinstall the president.
Meanwhile, on Monday Reuters reported North Korea criticized a joint military exercise performed this month by South Korea, Japan, and the United States, according to official media, saying such drills demonstrate the three nations’ alliance has evolved into “the Asian version of NATO”.
On Thursday, the three countries began large-scale combined military drills named “Freedom Edge” featuring navy destroyers, fighter fighters, and the nuclear-powered US aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, with the goal of strengthening defenses against missiles, submarines, and air strikes.
The drill was designed at a three-way meeting at Camp David last year to boost military cooperation amid concerns on the Korean peninsula caused by North Korea’s weapons testing.
Pyongyang will not overlook the strengthening of a military bloc led by the United States and its allies, and it would respond aggressively and decisively to defend regional peace, according to North Korea’s foreign ministry, as reported by KCNA.
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