July 27, 2023 - Your Evening Digest

Trump will be indicted, Special Counsel adds MORE charges, extreme heat across the world, Ukrainian fencer disqualified, and more

Today is July 27, 2023, and here is all the news you need to know about. If you enjoy my newsletter, please consider a monthly subscription to support my work, and to get access to Q&As, exclusive content, and more.

1) Donald Trump Will be Indicted for a Third Time

This morning, as the grand jury began meeting at the D.C. federal courthouse, Donald Trump’s attorneys were meeting with the Special Counsel’s team in D.C. During this meeting, Trump’s attorneys were notified that an indictment against the former President will be coming. Timing for this could be as soon as next week.

Here’s what to expect next. The grand jury continues to meet today and will vote to issue an indictment. This vote can come as soon as this afternoon, but it may come next week. The grand jury is considering three primary charges: (1) 18 U.S.C. § 371, conspiracy against the United States; (2) 18 U.S.C. § 1512 or 1513, witness tampering; and (3) 18 U.S.C. § 242 the deprivation of rights under the color of law, or the conspiracy to do the same. Each of these statutes are punishable by significant prison time, and the guidelines for Trump, if convicted, will call for prison time.

Once an indictment is issued, Donald Trump will travel to Washington, D.C. for an arraignment at which point he will enter a plea to the charges in the indictment. One important note, unlike Florida and New York, Donald Trump does not have a home base in Washington, D.C. and recently sold his hotel in the city.

2) Special Counsel Adds Charges To Trump

In addition to the expected third indictment, the Special Counsel filed a superseding indictment in the Southern District of Florida relating to the classified documents case. The superseding indictment includes a new defendant, Carlos De Oliviera, an employee at Mar A Lago who helped move the boxes of classified documents and was responsible for flooding the Mar A Lago pool, which destroyed surveillance tapes.

The new indictment keeps all of the original charges against Trump and adds several new charges alleging "Trump, Nauta and De Oliveria requested” that a Trump employee “delete security camera at the Mar-a-Lago Club to prevent the footage from being provided to a federal grand jury." The chances of Donald Trump receiving prison time have only gone up because of these new charges. Read the full indictment for yourself, and let me know if you want a full breakdown of the charges, possible penalties, and more.

3) Extreme Heat Hits Billions Around the Globe

We are breaking records, again, and not in a good way. According to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service and the World Meteorological Organization, July’s heat has been so extreme that it is “virtually certain” that this month will break heat records “by a significant margin.” Globally, we have lived through the hottest three-week period ever recorded, one that is hotter than any similar period in more than thousands of years. As a result of this record breaking heat, the number of heat-related injuries and deaths continue to rise across the world. And, according to scientists, human caused climate change is the primary reason for this excessive heat.

4) Ukrainian Fencer Disqualified

Today, Ukrainian fencer Olha Kharlan faced off against her Russian rival, Anna Smirnova at the Fencing World Championships. Kharlan successfully defeated her Russian opponent with a score of 15:7. After the match, Kharlan refused to shake hands with her rival, as has become customary with Ukrainian athletes refusing to shake hands with Russian athlete since the start of the war. However, following this refusal, Smirnova remained on the fencing court for over 50 minutes, waiting for judges to disqualify Kharlan from the competition. While judges initially refused, they eventually disqualified the Ukrainian fencer from competing. This is an absolutely shameful decision by the International Fencing Federation, one that must be reversed immediately.

5) Russia, China, and North Korea Align

Delegations from Russia and China gathered in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang this week to celebrate North Korea’s “Victory Day.” During this meeting, North Korean Defense Minister Kang Sun Nam publicly noted Pyongyang’s full support for Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, claiming that “for the just struggle of the Russian army and people to defend the sovereignty and security of the country.” Meanwhile, Russia’s defense minister released a similar statement asserting that the Korean People’s Army (KPA) has “become the strongest army in the world” and pledged continued cooperation to keep it that way. While the West remains firmly behind Ukraine in its fight for democracy, Russia, China, and North Korea are slowly aligning with one another. Stay tuned for more on this.