Good morning, and welcome to The Epoch Times News Brief for Thursday, May 30, 2024. I’m Bill Thomas, and today, we’re sharing some really intriguing news stories with you, from Supreme Court justices getting sued to complaints about the judge in the Trump trial. Also, we have a peculiar story about a high court judge who says he’s staying put, President Joe Biden’s name on a ballot, and a very concerning story about animal rights.
3 Liberal Supreme Court Justices Recuse Themselves in Lawsuit Over 2020 Election Case
In a surprising twist at the Supreme Court, all three liberal justices—Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson—are citing legal and ethical standards as their reasons for removing themselves from a significant legal battle.The case at hand is Brunson v. Sotomayor, and it involves a lawsuit against the justices themselves for their decision to dismiss a previous lawsuit aimed at challenging the 2020 presidential election results.
The plaintiff, Raland J. Brunson of Utah, who is known for his support of former President Donald Trump, argues that the justices, along with other lawmakers, failed to investigate claims of election fraud, thereby breaching their official oaths. An earlier case, titled Brunson v. Adams, involving the same plaintiff, also included allegations against members of Congress, President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and former Vice President Mike Pence. It was dismissed by the Supreme Court in January 2023.
The case began in state court before moving to the federal level, but both a district court and an appeals court dismissed his claims.
Despite these setbacks, Mr. Brunson urged the Supreme Court to grant his appeal, alleging the justices were guilty of “fraud, violations of the Oath of Office and ... treason.”
In this case, Mr. Brunson is representing himself without the assistance of an attorney.
‘Potential Misconduct’ Complaint Filed Against Judge Overseeing Trump Trial
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) has filed a complaint against the judge presiding over President Trump’s criminal trial in New York. She alleges that the process of selecting the judge was not random as it should have been.While there were approximately three dozen judges who could have been assigned, Judge Merchan was chosen for three significant cases involving President Trump, the Trump Organization, and his former adviser Steve Bannon.
In her letter, Ms. Stefanik raises concerns about the impartiality of the judge presiding over the three cases. According to Ms. Stefanik, Justice Merchan is a Democrat Party donor and his daughter is in charge of a consulting company that works with Democratic officials. She suggests that these three assignments might not be coincidental, given Mr. Merchan’s political ties.
For its part, the New York State Office of Court Administration has defended the assignment process, stating that all protocols were followed correctly.
Judge Merchan himself has refused to step down from the case. He issued a gag order against President Trump earlier this year, intending to stop him from potentially swaying witnesses or the jury.
President Trump, who has pleaded not guilty, criticizes the trial as politically motivated to keep him off the campaign trail for the 2024 presidential election and designed to harm his reelection chances.
The case is coming to a close, with jury deliberations continuing for the second day today.
Supreme Court’s Alito Responds to Calls to Recuse From Trump Cases
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has said recently that he will not step aside from cases involving the Jan. 6 Capitol breach or President Trump despite calls from some Democrats for his recusal. They made this request following the appearance of flags being flown at his property that have been linked to election fraud claims.Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) expressed concerns that the presence of these flags might suggest an appearance of impartiality.
For his part, Justice Alito explained that the flags were hung by his wife and were not intended to make a political statement. He said that once he learned of the flags’ significance, he requested his wife to remove them, although she initially resisted.
Justice Alito also wrote to House representatives, who were calling for his recusal, to clarify that the flags were not meant to align with any election fraud rhetoric. He said that their display did not compromise his impartiality.
In his defense, some Republicans said that the judge should not recuse himself over the flags.
President Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday that Justice Alito was showing “intelligence, courage, and ‘guts.’”
Democrats to Virtually Nominate Biden to Ensure Ohio Ballot Access
President Biden will be virtually nominated as the Democrats’ presidential nominee before the party’s national convention in August. This unusual step is to ensure his name appears on Ohio’s general election ballot ahead of the state’s Aug. 7 deadline.Despite efforts from Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who called a special legislative session to find a solution, lawmakers had not reached an agreement by the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) announcement on May 28.
The DNC plans to hold a virtual roll call after their committee vote on June 4. This virtual process is expected to mirror the format the party used in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, a House bill would add President Biden’s name to the ballot and allow more time for political parties to certify nominees in future presidential elections.
Watchdog Group Spotlights DOD’s Funding of Close to $1 Million on ‘Barbaric’ Beagle Experiments
The White Coat Waste Project (WCW) is an advocacy group that monitors government spending on animal testing. They recently brought to light a very concerning issue involving the Department of Defense (DOD).According to the group, the DOD has a $1 million contract for conducting experiments on beagles. Despite regulations banning certain animal tests since the 1980s, the DOD still permits toxicity tests on these dogs, which the WCW views as a significant loophole in policies meant to protect animals.
The group claims these experiments on beagles are not only unnecessary but also cruel, and they’ve been ongoing since last year.
Supported by a bipartisan group of politicians, the organization is pushing for legislation to end government-funded animal testing, arguing that it’s unethical, outdated, and a misuse of taxpayer money.
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, has recently reintroduced the Preventing Animal Abuse and Waste Act, which will prohibit government spending on experiments that cause distress to dogs or cats.
If you have the time or the means, I hope you’ll think about fostering or adopting a four-legged creature. I just adore dogs and cats.
I can see that we’re just about out of time, so let’s make that our final story on the Thursday edition of The Epoch Times News Brief.
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And finally, as we do each and every day on this program, we wrap things up with a very “notable” quote:
It was Japanese writer Ryunosuke Satoro who very eloquently said: “Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.”
Satoro is saying that by working together, people can accomplish far more than they could by simply working alone.
Thanks for working with us and making this program a success.
For all of us here at The Epoch Times News Brief, I’m Bill Thomas. We appreciate you spending some time with us today, enjoy the remainder of your Thursday, and we’ll see you right back here tomorrow for the always exciting Friday edition of The Epoch Times News Brief, and as you know, tomorrow is going to be a big news day. Have a remarkable day today. Bye for now.
