Monday, May 20, 2024

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1/ The International Criminal Court will seek arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. A panel of three judges will decide whether to issue the arrest warrants and allow a case to proceed against Netanyahu, Sinwar, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and two other senior Hamas officials. The judges are expected take two months to decide. ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said he has evidence that Netanyahu and Gallant are responsible for the “starvation of civilians […] willful killing or Murder […] intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population as a war crime,” and “intentionally and systematically deprived the civilian population in all parts of Gaza of objects indispensable to human survival.” Netanyahu called the ICC’s decision “an utter distortion of reality” that “will not stop us from waging our just war against Hamas.” Biden, meanwhile, called the decision “outrageous,” saying “there is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas.” (Axios / CNN / Associated Press / Politico / Washington Post / New York Times / NBC News)

2/ Prosecutors, who charged Trump with 34 felony counts, rested their case in the election interference trial involving falsified business records. After the prosecution rested, Trump’s lawyers called two witnesses, including Robert Costello, a lawyer who has publicly accused Michael Cohen of lying. Separately, Cohen admitted that he stole $30,000 from the Trump Organization as a form of “self-help” after his bonus had been cut by two-thirds. At one point, Judge Juan Merchan briefly cleared the courtroom after Costello repeatedly made comments under his breath from the stand during objections by prosecutors. Costello is set to return to the stand tomorrow for cross-examination, and the defense said they do not expect to call any more witnesses. Once the defense rests, Merchan said he plans to send the jury home until closing arguments the day after Memorial Day. Meanwhile, Trump’s lawyer asked Merchan to dismiss the case. (New York Times / Washington Post / CNN / Bloomberg / Associated Press / Politico / NBC News / ABC News)

3/ Rudy Giuliani was...

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