good morning. We look at the US move to unseal the Mar-a-Lago search warrant, Russia’s preparations for a possible show trial, and Taiwan’s unyielding diplomacy.
US unwraps Trump warrant
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has moved to open a warrant allowing the FBI to search classified documents at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago, Florida mansion. Garland said he personally endorsed the decision to seek the warrant.
Garland’s statement follows revelations that Trump received a subpoena for documents this spring, months before an FBI investigation on Monday. When questioned, it also came the day after he asserted his Fifth Amendment right to self-incrimination.
The subpoena suggests the Justice Department tried to explain the material in a way that didn’t amount to a search warrant.Here’s a live update.
detail: Officials believe the former president improperly took the papers with him after he resigned. indicates that it contains highly confidential information.
analysis: Garland’s decision to make a public appearance comes amid the extraordinary momentum of an extensive investigation into the former president, who remains a powerful political force in the department’s 152-year history. It was a moment. After coming under pressure, Garland said he decided to go public to serve the “public good.”
Russia ready for possible show trial
Russia has installed a cage in the Great Theater of Mariupol. It is clear that this is preparation for a show trial of captured Ukrainian soldiers in newly occupied lands. The trial could begin on her August 24th, Ukraine’s Independence Day.
I fear the Kremlin plans to use the trap of legal proceedings to defend a city in southern Ukraine and strengthen its narrative about fighters who spent weeks under a steel mill. There are also people. Ukrainian authorities are calling for international intervention.
Moscow may also use the trial to deflect responsibility for atrocities committed by Russia when Russian forces laid siege to Mariupol. The Kremlin has a long and brutal history of using such trials to feign credibility in an effort to silence its critics. Here’s a live update.
Coverage of the Russian-Ukrainian War
environment: Concerns over the safety of prisoners of war have only grown since Ukrainian authorities last month accused Moscow of orchestrating the bombing of a Russian prison camp that killed at least 50 Ukrainian prisoners.
Other updates:
China’s exercises did not deter Taiwan
China’s continued military exercises have not deterred Taiwan, my colleague wrote in the analysis.
In fact, the exercise cemented the Autonomous Island’s belief in the value of diplomatic, economic and military operations to stake a compromise in the great power conflict between Beijing and Washington.
Under the current president, Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwanese officials are quietly courting the United States, profiting from arms sales and aid pledges. They also turned the Chinese frenzy into growing international awareness of the island’s plight.
But Taiwan has refrained from flaunting its successes to avoid an explosion from China. The military said it would not escalate and took relatively mild countermeasures.
What’s next: U.S. officials are considering stockpiling weapons on Taiwan out of concern that supplies to the island could become difficult in the event of a Chinese military blockade.
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art and ideas
sell democracy to africa
The United States this week unveiled a new African policy based on a familiar strategy to promote democracy. The challenge is to sell it to a changing continent.
During a visit that included South Africa and the African Democratic Republic, Secretary of State Antony Brinken said during a visit to South Africa and the African Democratic Republic that he presented the new US approach, saying, “African countries are too often treated as instruments of others’ progress rather than as authors of their own progress. There are many,” he said. Congo and Rwanda.
The US “does not dictate Africa’s choices,” he added, in response to criticism that US stances on Africa could be patronizing, if not condescending. showed a positive reaction.
South Africa’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Naledi Pandor said, “Given history, the approach needs to be somewhat different, and we recommend paying more attention to tools developed by Africans.
In addition to unique tools and institutions like the African Union, more African countries are wealthier than a generation ago, said Bob Wekesa, deputy director of the African Center for American Studies in Johannesburg.
“They can afford to say, ‘For a given issue, we can choose who to deal with,'” says Wekesa. These new partnerships include emerging powers such as Turkey and India, as well as US rivals Russia and China. Traditional U.S. allies such as Botswana and Zambia are likely to accept U.S. strategy, while powerful leaders in Uganda and Rwanda are more likely to resist, he added.
Yesterday in Kigali, Brinken said he urged the leaders of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo to stop supporting militias in eastern Congo. He also expressed concern about the detention of US resident Paul Rusesabagina, who inspired the movie Hotel Rwanda.
But just hours before the meeting with Blinken, President Paul Kagame threw cold water on the suggestion that the Rusesabagina case would be upsetting. “Don’t worry… there are things here that don’t go so well!!” he said on twitter— Lynsey Chutel, briefing writer based in Johannesburg.