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Ahmed Abu Khatallah Gets 22 Years in Prison for 2012 Benghazi Terror Attack

Ahmed Abu Khatallah, aka Ahmed Mukatallah, a Libyan national, charged and sentenced for his role in the U.S. Embassy and nearby CIA Annex in Benghazi back in 2012.

Ahmed Abu Khatallah was sentenced to 22 years in prison for his role in the September 11, 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. Special Mission in Benghazi, Libya. The premeditated attack, which the Obama Administration attempted to coverup and characterize as a protest, claimed the lives of four Americans.

Khatallah, a.k.a. Ahmed Mukatallah, 47, a Libyan national, was a leader of an extremist militia named Ubaydah bin Jarrahas. He was captured in Libya on June 15, 2014, and brought to the U.S. to face trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He was found guilty by a jury on Nov. 28, 2017

Ambassador Christopher Stevens, State Department’s Sean Smith, and former Navy SEALS-turned-CIA-contractors Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty died in the attack at the Mission and the nearby Annex in Benghazi.

After 7 weeks of trial, the jury convicted him of one count of conspiracy to provide material support or resources to terrorists, one count of providing material support or resources to terrorists, one count of maliciously destroying and injuring dwellings and property, and placing lives in jeopardy within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the U.S., and one count of using and carrying a semiautomatic assault rifle during a crime of violence.

Khatallah has been referred to as the mastermind behind the attack in the media, though several sources have told People’s Pundit Daily (PPD) that the characterization is not wholly accurate. However, it was he who directed the militant Islamic group to carry out the attack first at the U.S. Special Mission in Benghazi.

Ambassador Stevens and Mr. Smith were overcome by the thick, black smoke stemming from a fire set by the attackers. Another State Department employee, who tried to guide them to safety, was injured.

After the attack at the U.S. Special Mission, the attack continued at a nearby CIA annex in the early hours of September 12, 2012. The defenders first repelled an assault of gunfire before taking incoming strikes from a precision mortar attack.

Mr. Woods and Mr. Doherty died in the mortar attack, and a State Department employee and U.S. government security specialist were seriously wounded.

June 28, 2018

Ahmed Abu Khatallah was sentenced to 22

Politics

Chairman Grassley: Trump’s Supreme Court Nominee Will Get “Hearing in the Weeks Ahead”

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., whispers something into the ear of her colleague Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Ia., during a Senate hearing. (Photo: AP)

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Ia., said he looks forward to President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee getting “his or her hearing in the weeks ahead.” Justice Anthony Kennedy, 82, a notable swing vote on the Court, announced his retirement effective July 31, 2018.

“I expect the President will soon nominate someone for the Senate to consider. I encourage the President to choose a nominee with the credentials, intellect and commitment to the rule of law necessary to serve on the Supreme Court. I look forward to having the nominee before us in the Senate Judiciary Committee for his or her hearing in the weeks ahead.”

Justice Kennedy was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Ronald Reagan in 1987, and was sworn in on February 18, 1988. He has authored important majority opinion in landmark cases that handed both sides of the aisle important political victories.

Though he was nominated by a Republican and wrote for the majority in Boumediene v. Bush and Citizens United v. FEC., he was not a reliably conservative vote. Since the retirement of Sandra Day O’Connor in 2006, Justice Kennedy has been the swing vote on the Roberts Court’s 5–4 decisions.

His replacement could alter the ideological lean of the Court to conservatism for generations to come.

For gay rights, he authored the majority opinion in the landmark cases of Lawrence v. Texas, and Obergefell v. Hodges. However, when Chief Justice John Roberts dealt the Republican Party a devastating blow by rewriting the law to uphold ObamaCare, it was Justice Kennedy who tried on multiple occasions to talk him out of what the base viewed as a betrayal.

“For more than three decades, Justice Kennedy served with great distinction on the Supreme Court of the United States,” Chairman Grassley added. “He helped chart the course of American jurisprudence, and made his mark as a staunch defender of First Amendment rights, especially the freedom of speech and religious liberty.”

“He set an example of integrity and wisdom that I hope all jurists will emulate.”

The White House said President Donald Trump will choose a Supreme Court nominee from the list he released to the American people during the campaign, which was updated in 2017.

Justice Neil Gorsuch, who was plucked from the president’s list, has been an important textualist defender of the First and Fourth Amendments during the session on multiple cases, including recent cases on religious liberty (Arlene’s Flowers and Masterpiece Cakeshop), public sector unions and privacy.

President Trump said Wednesday at the White House that he gave Justice Kennedy an opportunity to make suggestions for his replacement. The two met during a meeting earlier in the day, during which the president thanked him for his thirty years of service to the nation on the Court.

“Justice Kennedy has been a tireless voice for individual rights and the Founders’ enduring vision of limited government,” President Trump said. “His words have left an indelible mark not only on this generation, but on the fabric of American history.”

President Donald J. Trump’s Supreme Court List

Amy Coney Barrett of Indiana, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

Keith Blackwell of Georgia, Supreme Court of Georgia

Charles Canady of Florida, Supreme Court of Florida

Steven Colloton of Iowa, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

Allison Eid of Colorado, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

Britt Grant of Georgia, Supreme Court of Georgia

Raymond Gruender of Missouri, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

Thomas Hardiman of Pennsylvania, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

Brett Kavanaugh of Maryland, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

Raymond Kethledge of Michigan, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

Joan Larsen of Michigan, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

Mike Lee of Utah, United States Senator

Thomas Lee of Utah, Supreme Court of Utah

Edward Mansfield of Iowa, Supreme Court of Iowa

Federico Moreno of Florida, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida

Kevin Newsom of Alabama, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

William Pryor of Alabama, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

Margaret Ryan of Virginia, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces

David Stras of Minnesota, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

Diane Sykes of Wisconsin, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

Amul Thapar of Kentucky, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

Timothy Tymkovich of Colorado, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

Robert Young of Michigan, Supreme Court of Michigan (Ret.)

Don Willett of Texas, Supreme Court of Texas

Patrick Wyrick of Oklahoma, Supreme Court of Oklahoma

June 27, 2018

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley looks

Policy

The Continuing Success of Switzerland’s Spending Cap

A national flag of Switzerland flies in front of a branch office of Swiss bank Credit Suisse in Luzern October 30, 2014. (Photo: Reuters)

There are many threats to prosperity, both in the short run and long run.

A tit-for-tat global trade war that would repeat the mistakes of the 1930s.
Punitive class-warfare taxes stifling investment and entrepreneurship.
Financial bubbles fueled by the easy-money policies of central banks.

Those are all things we should worry about. But here’s the issue that worries me the most.

More government spending resulting from demographic change and entitlements.

Fortunately, there’s a solution. Governments should copy Switzerland and impose a spending cap. I explained this system in a column for the Wall Street Journal back in 2012.

…85% of its voters approved an initiative that effectively requires its central government spending to grow no faster than trendline revenue. The reform, called a “debt brake” in Switzerland, has been very successful. Before the law went into effect in 2003, government spending was expanding by an average of 4.3% per year. Since then it’s increased by only 2.6% annually. …politicians aren’t able to boost spending when the economy is doing well and the Treasury is flush with cash. Equally important, it is very difficult for politicians to increase the spending cap by raising taxes.

By the way, I just updated the calculations using IMF data. Looking at the numbers from 2003-2018, government spending has grown by an average of 2.1 percent per year since the debt brake went into effect.

In other words, the policy is becoming more successful over time.

Some argue, by the way, that spending restraint is bad for an economy. The Keynesians think that more government is “stimulus.” And many of the international bureaucracies (including the IMF) argue that more government is an “investment.”

There’s lots of evidence that smaller government is the right route for prosperity. But for today’s purposes, let’s focus just on the United States and Switzerland.

Both nations are prosperous by world standards, though the United States generally enjoyed a small advantage in terms of per-capita economic output according to the Maddison database. But in the past 15 years, Switzerland has jumped ahead.

Time for a big caveat. There are dozens of policies that help determine a nation’s prosperity, so it would be improper to claim that Switzerland overtook the United States solely because of the spending cap.

Switzerland ranks above the United States in Economic Freedom of the World, so many factors doubtlessly contributed to the nation’s superior performance. Both theory and evidence, however, suggest that fiscal discipline is good for prosperity.

But what about government debt? Did the spending cap in the debt brake succeed in controlling red ink?

The answer is yes, an emphatic yes.

Here are two charts, based on data from the International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook database for the years since the debt brake went into effect. We can see that both gross debt and net debt increased in advanced countries and euro countries. In Switzerland, however, debt levels fell.

In other words, while debt levels have jumped in other industrialized nations, the level of red ink in Switzerland has declined. While other European nations have experienced fiscal crisis and ever-increasing amounts of debt, Switzerland has been an island of budgetary tranquility.

By the way, I can’t resist pointing out that Switzerland relies on spending restraint, and red ink fell. Other nations have adopted lots of tax increases, and red ink rose.

Hmmm…, maybe there’s a lesson to be learned?

June 27, 2018

Governments should copy Switzerland and impose a

Politics

Justice Anthony Kennedy Retiring, Effective July 31

President Donald J. Trump, left, and Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy participate in a public swearing-in ceremony for Justice Neil Gorsuch in the Rose Garden of the White House White House in Washington, Monday, April 10, 2017.

Justice Anthony Kennedy announced he will retire from the U.S. Supreme Court, effective July 31, 2018. The vacancy left by the conservative-leaning swing vote sets up a battle to preserve the ideological lean of the court.

The White House said President Donald Trump will address the announcement shortly. Justice Kennedy visited the White House to tell President Donald Trump about the retirement earlier Wednesday after the court had read their final opinions for the session.

“I just want to thank Justice Kennedy for his spectacular service,” President Trump said in remarks to reporters afterward. “He’s an amazing man.”

The president again pledged to nominate a replacement from the list he previously released and campaigned on.