Need to know: Top national and international news for July 1, 2021.
1. Trump Org to be Charged for Tax Crimes
The company and chief financial officer of former President Trump are expected to face criminal charges based on taxes on Thursday. The Manhattan district attorney will charge Trump’s company and chief officer, Allen Weisselberg, with tax crimes related to unexpected benefits and bonuses given to their employees.
While Trump himself will not be charged, the company is known as the Trump Organization, and the advisors are closely involved with Trump. While Trump has been facing many allegations on the state and federal levels regarding taxes, this is the first criminal charge towards his company named after him.
Wiesselburg surrendered to the alleged crimes on Thursday morning to the Manhattan district attorney’s office. The specifics of the charges and the benefits given to the employees will be released Thursday.
This came after a two-year investigation into the organization and the Trump Organization meeting with prosecutors in attempts to dismiss the allegations, but ultimately failing to convince them.
2. Supreme Court Votes to Allow New Voting Restrictions
The Supreme Court has just decided to greenlight many Republican states in their attempt to implement new voting restrictions in the name of fighting electoral fraud. It was derived from a case in Arizona, in which the Democratic party was challenging two major voting restrictions: requiring throwing out ballots from the wrong precinct and preventing “ballot harvesting,” which is when activists and campaign workers collect and return ballots.
The ruling was 6-3 siding with the state of Arizona, which will lead to other Republican states also implementing voter restrictions in order to combat fraud and corruption, but at the cost of marginalized communities. Two examples are Georgia and Florida, which have already put in place new voting restrictions and regulations.
3. Neutral Switzerland Buys the World’s Biggest Weaponry
The neutral nation of Switzerland just acquired Lockheed Martin’s F-35A Lightning II as its next-generation fighter jet, despite disagreements from others. The deal was $5.5 billion, making Switzerland the 15th largest weapons project.
The decision to invest in 36 F-35As as well as the $2.1 billion agreement with the United States to buy a new missile system led to much criticism from left-wing members and other anti-war communities within the nation. They argue that Switzerland does not need this advanced and highly deadly weaponry in order to defend their country. However, the government stated the deal had “the highest overall benefit at the lowest overall cost.”
Priska Seiler Graf, a member of Parliament for the left-leaning Social Democrats (SP) stated, “The decision is simply incomprehensible, it’s not just about buying them, but the upkeep and operating costs.” She added, “We should seek a European solution … we don’t want to be dependent on the United States.”