ICE Says Detention Is Like "Summer Camp"
Migrant detention centers are ‘Like a Summer Camp,’ official says at hearing. NYT: "Not until the day it was announced did senior officials from three key agencies learn of the Trump administration’s 'zero tolerance' policy to deter migrants from illegally entering the United States by threatening jail sentences and separating children from their parents. At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday, the officials said they were given few instructions and had no plans for reuniting the families when the policy was announced on April 6. One official, Cmdr. Jonathan D. White of the United States Public Health Service, said he learned of it from watching television. Still, the officials — from the Departments of Justice, Health and Human Services and Homeland Security — tried to defend how the administration’s controversial policy was carried out. Matthew Albence, the acting No. 2 official at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, described family detention centers set up to shelter migrants as 'more like a summer camp.'"
Trump Ramps Up China Trade War
China vows retaliation if Trump slaps 25 percent tariff on $200 billion of Chinese imports. Reuters: "hina said on Wednesday that “blackmail” wouldn’t work and that it would hit back if the United States takes further steps hindering trade, as the Trump administration considers slapping a 25 percent tariff on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. The proposal would increase the potential tariff rate from 10 percent the administration had initially put forward on July 10 for that wave of duties in a bid to pressure Beijing into making trade concessions, a source familiar with the plan said on Tuesday. The tariffs target thousands of Chinese imports, including food products, chemicals, steel and aluminum and consumer goods ranging from dog food, furniture and carpets to car tires, bicycles, and baseball gloves and beauty products."
Facebook Curbs Election Meddling
Facebook identifies an active political influence campaign using fake accounts. NYT: "Facebook said on Tuesday that it had identified a political influence campaign that was potentially built to disrupt the midterm elections, with the company detecting and removing 32 pages and fake accounts that had engaged in activity around divisive social issues. The company did not definitively link the campaign to Russia. But Facebook officials said some of the tools and techniques used by the accounts were similar to those used by the Internet Research Agency, the Kremlin-linked group that was at the center of an indictment this year alleging interference in the 2016 presidential election. Facebook said it had discovered coordinated activity around issues like a sequel to last year’s deadly 'Unite the Right' white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va. Activity was also detected around #AbolishICE, a left-wing campaign on social media that seeks to end the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency."
Kochs Break With White House
Trump lashes out at Koch brothers after political network slams White House. Daily Republic: "President Donald Trump on Tuesday lashed out at the Koch brothers, saying their conservative political network had 'become a total joke in real Republican circles' and was 'highly overrated' – deepening the divide between the GOP’s donor class and its increasingly populist base at a critical time, three months before the midterm elections. The comments, which came in a series of morning tweets, were an almost inevitable response to statements by Charles Koch, the billionaire conservative, and his aides who revealed at their annual donor conference that they would not be supporting some Republican Senate candidates who are in line with Trump’s tariff and immigration policies. At the weekend summit, Brian Hooks, the co-chairman of the network of Koch-affiliated groups, bemoaned the 'tremendous lack of leadership' in Washington and the 'deterioration of the core institutions of society.' Hooks and other top Koch operatives pointedly criticized the White House and GOP lawmakers allied with Trump, taking particular issue with their positions on trade policy and increased federal spending."
More from OurFuture.org:
Memo to Rudy: 'Collusion' Isn’t a Crime, But 'conspiracy' Is. Miles Mogulescu: "When Rudy Guiliani, other Trump defenders, and Trump himself claim 'collusion isn’t a crime,' they’re lying. As they know full well, collusion can be a crime, and the legal term for it is 'conspiracy.' One explanation for their knowing lies is that, if Mueller charges Trump with conspiracy, the jury will most likely initially not be 12 citizens sitting in a jury box, but Congress. The “collusion isn’t a crime” claim could simply be meant to deceive Trump’s supporters, and to give his backers in Congress a bogus defense."
