News Brief: DOJ Appeals Judge’s Dismissal of Trump Case, Secret Service Was Told Local Police Lacked Manpower, Injunction Blocking New Title IX Rule Remains in Place

The Department of Justice building in Washington on March 28, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

Good morning, and welcome to The Epoch Times News Brief for Friday, July 19, 2024. I’m Bill Thomas, the weekend is almost here, and we’ve got several important stories to share with you.

The Department of Justice is appealing the dismissal of an important case involving former President Donald Trump, and we have more details about what happened at the Trump rally in Pennsylvania. Also, the new Title IX rules affecting students will remain blocked, and Argentina is on the financial road to recovery.

We’ll dive into each of these stories, but first up—prosecutors in the former president’s classified documents case, which was recently dismissed, say they want the trial to move forward.

DOJ Appeals Judge’s Dismissal of Trump Documents Case

Prosecutor Jay Bratt has just filed a notice of appeal of U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon’s recent dismissal of the indictment against former President Trump. A spokesperson for special counsel Jack Smith said the Justice Department has authorized an appeal following Judge Cannon’s ruling.

In the case, the judge dismissed the indictment against the former president and two of his employees. She ruled that Mr. Smith was unlawfully appointed to his office by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, and that’s because the attorney general had no constitutional or statutory authority to appoint an officer with the power that was given to Mr. Smith.

The Department of Justice says that Judge Cannon’s dismissal of the case deviates from the conclusion of all previous courts in similar cases, which ruled that the attorney general is lawfully authorized to appoint a special counsel.

Judges in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals will need to decide whether or not they will accept the appeal.

It’s interesting to note that Mr. Smith continues to prosecute a second case against the former president in Washington. In that particular indictment, former President Trump is charged with conspiracy and obstruction based on the actions he took at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. However, that case was recently remanded back to the district court after the Supreme Court ruled that the former president has presidential immunity for some actions in the indictment.

We’ll continue now with another story related to the former president: the assassination attempt last weekend. What did the U.S. Secret Service know and when did they know it?

Secret Service Was Told Local Police Lacked Manpower to Secure Building Used by Trump Shooter

Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger tells The Washington Post that local authorities had informed the U.S. Secret Service that their police department did not have the manpower to help secure the building used by the 20-year-old shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, who tried to kill former President Donald Trump.

Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi also confirmed Mr. Goldinger’s statement, saying that stationing a patrol car and an officer outside of the building was part of his agency’s advance security planning proposal.

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle told ABC News that they decided to keep officers off the sloped roof of the building that the shooter was perched on because the incline presented a safety issue. She previously said that local law enforcement was responsible for securing the area that the shooter used to climb onto the roof of that building in order to shoot the former president.

Ms. Cheatle later told CNN that her agency was solely responsible for security plans at the rally and took full responsibility for the attack. She went on to say that the Secret Service respects local law enforcement, and that her agency would not be able to do their job without them. By the way, Butler County did provide four sniper teams, four fast-response teams, and officers to help the Secret Service at the July 13 rally, and they were deployed near a barn close to the rally.

You should know that federal authorities have launched multiple investigations into the Secret Service security failure—which has been called the most serious since the 1981 assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan. The FBI is heading the criminal probe, and the Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General says their investigation will examine the Secret Service’s counter-sniper team and security efforts in order to assess their threat preparation and response.

If you didn’t already know, the Department of Homeland Security oversees the Secret Service.

Another big story making the news is the controversial Title IX rule changes, which continue to be challenged in the courts.

Preliminary Injunction Blocking New Title IX Rule Will Remain in Place, Appeals Court Rules

The new rules, announced by the Department of Education (DOE) back in April, expand the decades-old Title IX law that prohibits sex discrimination in schools to now include sexual orientation and “gender identity.”

The latest ruling from a three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals means a preliminary injunction blocking the new rules will remain in place. They agreed with the decision by the lower court in Kentucky, which stated the new rule would unlawfully redefine sex discrimination under Title IX.

The order, issued by U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves this week, now blocks the DOE from enforcing the new Title IX rule in six states: Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, joining 15 other states.

Earlier this month, another federal judge issued a preliminary injunction preventing enforcement of the rule—pointing out that Title IX’s text and legislative history indicate that “sex” refers to a person’s biological sex.

The expansion of Title IX rules has been praised by civil rights advocates, but has raised concerns among conservatives who say it could give males who identify as females access to girls’ locker rooms and bathrooms and allow them to play on girls’ athletic teams.

The new rules were set to take effect Aug. 1, and the 6th Circuit court says it will now hear the case in October.

Switching gears, let’s head south of the border and check out a remarkable transformation for one particular South American country.

Argentina Posts 6 Months of Fiscal, Financial Surpluses

Argentina says it has posted primary fiscal and financial surpluses for June, which, according to the economy ministry, are the results of a drastic economic package rolled out by libertarian President Javier Milei.

Both the fiscal and financial balances are the sixth consecutive monthly surpluses, and June’s financial surplus—which includes interest payments by the government—is the first time since 2008 that six in a row have been recorded.

Economic officials say the fiscal surplus in the first half of 2024 reached 1.1 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) with the financial surplus at about 0.4 percent of GDP.

President Milei, who was elected in December, blames years of over-spending and deep fiscal deficits for Argentina’s economic woes, which include a triple-digit inflation rate.

His government promises to reach a zero deficit this year in order to right the South American country’s very challenged economy.

Always good to hear a story about a country that is on the path to financial success.

As you know, we are in the throes of summer, and some parts of the country are hotter than others, so just a brief reminder:

• Never leave people or pets in a closed car on a hot summer day.
• If you don’t have air conditioning at home, get to a cooling center if you can.
• Take cool showers throughout the day.
• Use your oven less to help reduce the temperature in your home.

And now, looks like our time is just about up for today, so we’re going to call it a wrap for the Friday edition of The Epoch Times News Brief.

If you have some free time today, it would sure mean a great deal to us if you could tell some folks you know about our program, and that’s because word of mouth is the best advertising on the planet. Thank you for helping us grow the always expanding News Brief family!

Also, if you have any thoughts about the News Brief program, we’d sure appreciate it if you’d simply reach out and share an email with us! We’re at [email protected], so send over a note, tell us what you’re thinking, and let us know what part of the country you’re writing in from as well. With that, let’s go to the email bag and see who’s checking in.

Jfstagl and RShaneC sent over a note to say they appreciate the Epoch Times News Brief program.

We also heard from Cher, 68eagle86, Leslie, Suzie, LJ, and Charles. And Gail says she’s getting briefed daily in Rhode Island. Glendale, Rhode Island, is believed to be home to the world’s oldest penny arcade, with some games dating back to the 1920s, still operating at their original price.

*(Don’t forget the News Brief Motto): We’re portable, affordable, and always on-demand.

And finally, as we do each and every day on this program, we wrap everything up with a very “notable” summertime quote.

It was John Steinbeck who said, “What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.”

Which Steinbeck book will you read this summer? “The Grapes of Wrath,” “East of Eden,” or perhaps “The Winter of Our Discontent.”

The Epoch Times News Brief is written by Sharon Reardon with production assistance from Faye, Clare, and a variety of additional writers, producers, and editors working diligently behind the scenes to bring this program to you each day.

For all of us here at The Epoch Times News Brief, I’m Bill Thomas.

Thank you for making us your one-stop source for a concise, accurate, and unbiased daily synopsis of many of the news stories you need to know about.

Enjoy the remainder of your Friday, it’s almost the weekend, and we’ll see you right back here tomorrow for the Saturday edition (the weekend edition) of The Epoch Times News Brief. Have a most perfect day today, and bye for now.