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Black Lives Matter Co-Founder Patrisse Cullors Called for the End of Israel at Harvard: ‘Our Generation’s South Africa’
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‘Students for Justice in Palestine’ Plans ‘Day of Resistance’; Says Israeli Civilians Legitimate Targets
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Judge lets lawsuit claiming Biden admin knew US funds were aiding Palestinian terrorists move forward
A federal judge in Texas on Tuesday evening ordered the discovery phase of a lawsuit accusing the Biden administration of knowingly providing funds that benefited Palestinian terrorists get underway.
America First Legal (AFL) first filed the lawsuit in 2022, alleging that President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken resumed payments to the Palestinian Authority (PA) that former President Trump ended in order to be in compliance with the Taylor Force Act — a federal law that prohibits the government from sending American taxpayer dollars to the PA until it stops supporting terrorism.
The lawsuit claims the Biden administration has transferred nearly half a billion American taxpayer dollars “to directly benefit and subsidize the Palestinian Authority” while admitting that the PA still operates its “Pay to Slay” program – which encourages terrorist attacks against persons living in and visiting the State of Israel.
Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk, of the Northern District of Texas, found Tuesday that AFL’s “recent production of records shows that the Government knew its economic support fund (ESF) funding in the West Bank and Gaza was benefiting Palestinian terrorists, thereby ‘increasing the risk of terrorist attacks against the Plaintiffs and others similarly situated.’”
BLINKEN DELETES SOCIAL MEDIA POST CALLING FOR ISRAEL-HAMAS ‘CEASE-FIRE’
“And they aver that the Government’s ‘admission that its activities in the West Bank and Gaza benefit Hamas suggests, with reasonable particularity, the possible existence of other facts, currently hidden, establishing traceability,’” the order says.
“These reasons, in concert with Hamas’s recent attack on Israel that killed fourteen Americans and resulted in others being held hostage, provide a sufficient basis for Plaintiffs Request,” Kacsmaryk wrote.
AFL asked the court to grant what is called expedited and limited jurisdictional discovery, which will require the Biden administration to produce related documents and testimony for the court.
The legal group represents Congressman Ronny Jackson, R-Texas; Stuart and Robbi Force, parents of West Point graduate Taylor Force murdered by a Palestinian terrorist in Tel Aviv – after whom the Taylor Force Act was named; and Sarri Singer, the survivor of a suicide bombing on a Jerusalem bus.
“This case is about the Palestinian Authority’s decades-long program of financial payments, social services, misinformation, and indoctrination to incentivize terrorist attacks against persons living in or visiting the State of Israel. The program is known as ‘Pay to Slay,’” the lawsuit states.
“Under Pay to Slay, the Palestinian Authority rewards terrorists and/or their families with increased rewards in proportion to the casualties inflicted. Terrorists who are married, or have children, or are Israeli residents/citizens receive an additional payment. Terrorists who spend more than 5 years (in a single term or cumulatively) in prison are paid a guaranteed salary by the Palestinian Authority for the rest of their lives,” the lawsuit explains.
“Every terrorist, regardless of their affiliations or the identity of their victims, is paid by the Palestinian Authority. This includes members of designated terror organizations, such as Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, who kill U.S. citizens,” the lawsuit alleges.
According to the suit, the “Pay to Slay” program beneficiaries include the family of Bashar Masalha who stabbed 11 people and murdered 28-year-old U.S. Army Iraq and Afghanistan war Taylor Force on March 8, 2016. Mr. Force was visiting Israel as part of his graduate program. Shortly after his death, Congress passed the legislating in his memory.
In the Taylor Force Act, Congress determined that “The Palestinian Authority’s practice of paying salaries to terrorists serving in Israeli prisons, as well as to the families of deceased terrorists, is an incentive to commit acts of terror.”
Through the Act, Congress prohibited the Executive Branch from providing any grant or award from U.S. taxpayer funds available for assistance under chapter 4 of part II of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 that “directly benefits the Palestinian Authority” unless the Secretary of State certifies that the Palestinian Authority is taking credible steps to end acts of violence against Israeli citizens and United States citizens and has terminated “Pay to Slay.”
Congress also made it clear that the Palestinian Authority could directly benefit from U.S. taxpayer-funded projects in the West Bank or Gaza, or operate the “Pay to Slay” program, but not both.
The lawsuit outlines that the Palestinian Authority chose “Pay to Slay” and consequently, the Trump Administration terminated funding.
AFL alleges, however, that when President Biden took office in January 2021, his administration transferred “hundreds of millions of dollars from U.S. taxpayers to the Palestinian Authority despite “Pay to Slay” and contrary to the Taylor Force Act.”
“Contrary to law, they have transferred nearly half a billion American taxpayer dollars to directly benefit and subsidize the Palestinian Authority. Among other things, the defendants are unlawfully laundering U.S. taxpayer funds through non-governmental organizations to directly benefit the Palestinian Authority,” the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit says that at the time the complaint was filed in court, President Biden and Secretary Blinken “admit that the Palestinian Authority operates ‘Pay to Slay’ to encourage terrorist attacks against persons living in and visiting the State of Israel.”
The lawsuit was filed in December 2022.
As of July 2023, both Democratic and Republican lawmakers were still requesting an update from Blinken on the administration’s plan to end “Pay to Slay.”
On Sept. 27, the House Foreign Affairs Committee held a hearing on efforts to stop “Pay to Slay.”
Former Deputy Assistant to the President and National Security Adviser Elliott Abrams testified before the committee that he believes the Biden administration has been encouraging other nations, like Saudi Arabia, to give the PA case, undermining the Taylor Force Act.
Blinken is expected Wednesday to meet with senior Israeli officials and “reiterate his condolences for the victims of the terrorist attacks against Israel and condemn those attacks in the strongest terms,” a statement from his office said Tuesday.
“ The Secretary will also reaffirm the United States’ solidarity with the government and people of Israel,” the statement said. “ He will also discuss measures to bolster Israel’s security and underscore the United States’ unwavering support for Israel’s right to defend itself.”
The State Department and White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment,
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Democrats ask Biden to put AI safeguards into executive order
Democrats in the House and Senate urged President Biden to turn non-binding safeguards on artificial intelligence (AI) into policy through an executive order, according to a letter sent to the White House Wednesday.
The letter, led by Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), recommends the Biden administration use the AI Bill of Rights, as a guide to set in place policy across the federal government through an upcoming AI executive order.
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The non-binding AI Bill of Rights outlines five key principles to guide the design, use and deployment of AI technology, focused on safe and effective systems, algorithmic discrimination protections, data privacy, notice and explanation, and consideration of human alternatives.
“By turning the AI Bill of Rights from a non-binding statement of principles into federal policy, your Administration would send a clear message to both private actors and federal regulators: AI systems must be developed with guardrails. Doing so would also strengthen your Administration’s efforts to advance racial equity and support underserved communities, building on important work from previous executive orders,” the Democrats wrote.
Last month before meeting with the president’s council of advisors on science and technology in San Francisco, Biden said he would be taking executive action “so America leads the way toward responsible AI innovation.”
In addition to the AI Bill of Rights, the Biden administration has also secured voluntary commitments aimed at managing risks posed by AI from top companies in the field, including Amazon, Google, OpenAI, Microsoft and Meta.
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Dems mount pressure on 18 Republicans in Biden-won districts ahead of new House speaker vote
Democrat strategists are mounting pressure against 18 Republicans representing congressional districts won by President Biden in 2020 ahead of the vote for new House speaker.
House Majority Forward and Center for American Progress (CAP) Action Fund, two top Democratic groups, released a memo Wednesday saying those 18 Republicans have the opportunity to demand that the next House speaker commit to working with Democrats to pass government funding measures following Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s ouster from the position.
It seems to suggest that whoever they vote for as the new speaker will have election implications come 2024.
“These 18 Republicans face a clear choice: put the country first by working in a bipartisan fashion – as the Senate is doing – to prevent a painful government shutdown or continue to march in lockstep with MAGA extremists like Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Matt Gaetz, and Lauren Boebert. This moment is a true test of their character,” the memo penned by CAP Action President Navin Nayak and House Majority Forward President Mike Smith says.
HOUSE SPEAKER RACE: REPUBLICANS TO SELECT A CANDIDATE TO REPLACE MCCARTHY IN CLOSED-DOOR VOTE
Gaetz, R-Fla., led the fight to remove McCarthy from the speakership for working with Democrats to pass a resolution preventing a government shutdown for at least another 45 days.
Eight Republicans and all Democrats voted in support of McCarthy’s ouster last week. Though Greene, R-Ga., and Boebert, R-Colo., did not support removing McCarthy as speaker, both did demand steep spending cuts and policy provisions that were rejected by Democrats before the 45-day resolution was cleared.
House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., are the two declared candidates for new speaker.
“With a divided government, the only path to keeping the government open is a bipartisan approach. These 18 Republicans will face the same test that other Republicans have faced when staring down the extremism of MAGA: put your party first by leaving the extremists in charge or put your country first,” the memo obtained by The Hill says. “As early as today, we will know which choice they make. Either way, their political fate will be sealed.”
‘UNMITIGATED S—SHOW’: HOUSE REPUBLICANS FUME OVER SPEAKER VACANCY AMID ISRAEL CRISIS
“House Republicans in Biden-won districts have refused to stand up to the MAGA extremists that have driven the appropriations process. In fact, 17 of the 18 voted for all four of the party’s first appropriations bills to pass the House,” according to the memo, which says the bills were “filled with extreme policies and a far-right culture war wishlist items.”
“Finally, all 18 of these Republicans supported a continuing resolution that would have slashed many federal investments by 30 percent, gutting programs working families depend on, like the administration of Social Security, affordable housing, and home heating assistance,” Nayak and Smith wrote.
The speaker vote could take place as early as Wednesday afternoon. The House Republican Conference will hold its internal election to select its nominee for speaker of the House Wednesday morning. It is possible in this meeting the GOP Conference could also vote on internal rules changes ahead of a speaker vote.
Most notably, the conference may vote to raise the threshold for the internal speaker nominee from a simple majority of Republicans to a number high enough to win a speaker election on the House floor with a majority of the chamber. Currently, that number is 217.
Fox News’ Tyler Olson contributed to this report.
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