Judge temporarily blocks publication of tell-all book by President Trump's niece

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/30/media/mary-trump-book/index.html

The ruling, issued by Judge Hal B. Greenwald of the New York State Supreme Court, the state's trial court, is the first legal win for Robert S. Trump, the younger brother of the President. Robert Trump has sought to block the book by Mary Trump, the President's niece, contending it violates a confidentiality agreement related to the estate of the President's father, Fred Trump.

 

The Tuesday ruling comes after a judge for the Queens County Surrogate Court in New York last week dismissed a similar attempt to block the book, citing a lack of jurisdiction.

Berlin authorities placed children with pedophiles for 30 years

https://www.dw.com/en/berlin-authorities-placed-children-with-pedophiles-for-30-years/a-53814208

 

The 'Kentler Project' in West Berlin routinely placed homeless children with pedophile men, assuming they'd make ideal foster parents. A study has found the practice went on for decades.

Starting in the 1970s psychology professor Helmut Kentler conducted his "experiment." Homeless children in West Berlin were intentionally placed with pedophile men. These men would make especially loving foster parents, Kentler argued.

A study conducted by the University of Hildesheim has found that authorities in Berlin condoned this practice for almost 30 years. The pedophile foster fathers even received a regular care allowance.

Helmut Kentler (1928-2008) was in a leading position at Berlin's center for educational research. He was convinced that sexual contact between adults and children was harmless.

765 new infections recorded over last 24 hours, as virus curve bulges

https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-june-30-2020/

Number of seriously ill patients jumps to 52, up from 46 Tuesday morning; single day case tally matches second highest since start of pandemic

The Health Ministry releases new coronavirus data showing 765 new infections over the last 24 hours, as the pandemic continues to trend upward.

 

 

 

Twitch suspends Trump's account for hate speech

https://www.jpost.com/international/twitch-suspends-trumps-account-for-hateful-speech-633315

  US President Donald Trump's Twitch account was suspended on Monday for violating the site's rules regarding hateful content, gaming news outlet Gamespot reported.

“Hateful conduct is not allowed on Twitch. In line with our policies, President Trump’s channel has been issued a temporary suspension from Twitch for comments made on stream, and the offending content has been removed,” a Twitch spokesman said in a statement, according to Gamespot.

The statement gave examples of hate speech used in some of Trump's livestreams, citing both a 2016 rally that was recently rebroadcast, and the recent campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Both examples could be perceived as racist and hateful against Mexicans.

The example from the 2016 rally was the now-infamous quote regarding Mexican immigrants. “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems to us,” Trump said at the time. “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people. But I speak to border guards and they tell us what we’re getting. And it only makes common sense – it only makes common sense. They’re sending us not the right people.”

New revelations stir old questions about Trump and Russia

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/30/politics/donald-trump-russia-taliban-phone-calls/index.html

Reports that a Russian military intelligence agency put a bounty on the heads of US troops in Afghanistan launched the President's team into a new cycle of confusion, apparent half-truths and contradictions as a fresh storm raged over Trump's mysterious deference to Moscow and its strongman leader, President Vladimir Putin.

 

Conflicting messages from the President and his press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, only deepened the intrigue about what is really going on. 

 

None of what they are saying clears up an episode that comes as new reporting for CNN from veteran Washington reporter Carl Bernstein lifts the lid on Trump's desperate flattery of Putin, his ignorance of basic world events, the way he was manipulated by smarter world leaders and his "near-sadistic" -- according to one source -- behavior toward female world leaders such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

White House Was Aware Of Russian Bounties In 2019: Report | Morning Joe | MSNBC

Rep. Slotkin, Ex-CIA Analyst: Bounty Intel Likely Went To President | Morning Joe | MSNBC

'Blood is on their hands': Rep. Banks says NYT revealed sensitive details on Russia bounty intel

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/new-york-times-russia-bounty-story-rep-banks

"Having served in Afghanistan during the time the alleged bounties were placed, no one is angrier about this than me," Banks wrote. "Now it’s impossible to finish the investigation. All b/c the @nytimes will do anything to damage @realdonaldtrump , even if it means compromising nat'l security."

The White House said Monday that Trump wasn't briefed on U.S. intelligence assessments concerning the bounties because the information had not been verified.

Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters Monday that Trump — even now — had not been briefed on the allegations because the intelligence “would not be elevated to the president until it was verified."

The result was an odd situation in which eight Republican lawmakers attended a briefing at the White House on Monday about explosive allegations that the president himself was said to have not been fully read in on.

 

Joe: Trump Taking The Words Of Putin Over His Own Intel Chiefs | Morning Joe | MSNBC

GOP Lawmakers Urge Action After Russia-Afghanistan 'Bounties' Briefing

https://time.com/5861497/gop-russia-afghanistan-briefing-bounties/

 

The White House seemed to be setting an unusually high bar for bringing the information to Trump, since it is rare for intelligence to be confirmed without a shadow of doubt before it is presented to senior government decision-makers. McEnany declined to say why a different standard of confidence in the intelligence applied to briefing lawmakers than bringing the information to the president.

Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., and Texas Rep. Mac Thornberry, the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, said, “After today’s briefing with senior White House officials, we remain concerned about Russian activity in Afghanistan, including reports that they have targeted U.S. forces.”

Bash Says ‘It’s Inconceivable’ Trump Would Not Be Told About A Direct Threat To U.S. Troops | MSNBC

Rice: 'Makes No Sense' That Trump Wasn't Told Of Russia Bounties | Rachel Maddow | MSNBC

Trump battles NY Times on Afghanistan story, deletes inflammatory video

https://www.foxnews.com/media/trump-battles-ny-times-on-afghanistan-story-deletes-inflammatory-video

The president’s first instinct, as always, was to blame the press.

When a damaging story emerged, Donald Trump said he hadn’t been told about it, and besides, it was another “phony hit job” by the New York Times, and the paper should name its unnamed sources which, he said, were probably made up.

Trump went further yesterday, calling the report “possibly another fabricated Russia Hoax, maybe by the Fake News New York Times, wanting to make Republicans look bad!!!”

Much remains murky about what the president was or wasn’t told about Russia and Afghanistan. But unnamed administration officials have since confirmed the guts of the story to the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, NBC, CNN and the AP, among others.

 

Kayleigh McEnany kept the focus on the Times yesterday, telling “Fox & Friends” that “it is truly egregious when you have anonymous sources spewing out this information on the pages of the New York Times anonymously, giving them false information.” I understand the frustration about leaks, which have plagued Trump from the beginning, but it’s hard to simultaneously argue that the information is both classified and false.

Some Republicans, led by Liz Cheney, have joined Democrats in demanding to know why the president wasn’t briefed, if that’s the case.

Pentagon says ‘no corroborating’ evidence to stand up NYT report on Russian bounties

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/pentagon-says-no-corroborating-evidence-to-stand-up-nyt-report-on-russian-bounties

The Defense Department said late Monday that there is “no corroborating evidence” to support the explosive New York Times report last week that said the Russian military offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan. 

Robert O’Brien, the national security adviser, said in a statement that since the allegations in the report were not verified by the intelligence community, Trump has not been briefed on the matter.

A White House official told Fox News on Monday that Trump has now been briefed on the issue. It’s unclear exactly when this briefing took place, but the official says it took place sometime “after the NY Times reported on unverified intelligence.”

The statement is at odds with the White House, which insisted that Trump has still not been briefed.