July 28, 2023 - Your Daily Digest

Ukraine's counteroffensive improves, new Trump charges, and more

Today is July 28, 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) Georgia Charges Coming Soon

Charges in DA Fani Willis’ investigation into Donald Trump will be coming soon. Barriers have been erected outside of the Georgia courthouse where a grand jury is expected to issue “high profile indictments.” The Fulton County Sheriff’s office, in a written statement, asserted that they are “proactively coordinating with local, state and federal agencies to enhance security during high profile legal proceedings at the Fulton County Courthouse. Some of the measures we are deploying, such as barriers that will limit parking near the courthouse, will be obvious to the public. For security reasons, other measures being deployed will not be as obvious.”

The Guardian has reported that DA Fani Willis has enough evidence to charge racketeering in her investigation into election interference in Georgia. Racketeering charges were made famous by prosecutors who brought cases against organized crime. Unlike in many of these cases, however, the racketeering charge in Georgia is much more expansive.

To pursue a racketeering charge, DA Willis needs to demonstrate the existence of an enterprise and multiple qualifying crimes. These qualifying crimes must be predicated on a pattern of racketeering activity. In this instance, DA Willis is focusing her efforts on statutes concerning computer trespass and influencing witnesses. Specifically, she is probing the likely breach of voting machines in Coffee County, Georgia by individuals who were paid by Trump’s former attorney, Sidney Powell. Charges are expected in this investigation sometime in the next two to three weeks. Stay tuned.

2) Ukraine’s Offensive Continues Strong

Ukraine’s counteroffensive is continuing today, and Ukrainian forces have officially reached Russia’s defensive lines in the Zaporizhzhia region. These defensive lines, also known as “dragon’s teeth” are concrete and rebar pyramids meant to repeal the advances of tanks. Russia initially installed hundreds of miles of these defensive lines in an attempt to seal off territorial gains and stall Ukraine’s expected counteroffensive. It remains to be seen whether these defensive lines are successful, but in the interim, Ukraine’s counteroffensive is picking up steam and slowly taking back land, one town at a time.

3) Trump Faces More Criminal Charges

Special Counsel Jack Smith has 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.

4) Missile Hits Russian City

Today, a missile strike hit a Russian city near the Ukrainian border. This morning Rostov Region Governor Vasily Golubev announced that a missile exploded in the center of Taganrog. Although no civilian deaths were reported, at least twelve civilians were injured by the strike. The Russian Ministry of Defense asserted that this was a terrorist attack by Ukrainian forces, and that Russia successfully shot town a second missile launched. Once again, these claims are disputed by Ukrainian forces. One important note, the missile struck an area in Taganrog that contained a cafe and a residential building. It would be highly unlikely Ukraine intentionally targeted civilians on Russian soil, but we do not have confirmation one way or another.

5) Russia Hits Residential Building

In response to the alleged attack on Russian soil, Russia launched a missile strike hitting a residential building in Dnipro, Ukraine. Russia used a Iskander-M/Kh-47 “Kinzhal” ballistic missile to strike the high-rise building, causing significant damage to the building and mass casualties within. Initial reports suggest Russia may have been targeting the headquarters of the Ukrainian Security Service in the city, but video evidence shows the missile hitting the top of the residential building. For context, the residential building is located on the side of the SBU building. Whether there is any further comment from Russia or Ukraine concerning this attack remains to be seen.

6) US to Provide More Aid to Taiwan

The United States is planning on announcing a new military aid package worth more than 300 million dollars. This aid package will likely anger China. According to initial reports, the aid package is expected to include at least 4 unarmed MQ-9A surveillance drones as well as air defense systems that were previously delayed because of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.