Month: June 2023

Biden Administration ‘Hopeful’ Sweden Will Be Admitted to NATO 

Posted on by SeeEU

The Biden administration says it remains “hopeful” about Sweden’s application to join the NATO security alliance, despite tepid words from NATO’s main holdout, Turkey.

But the White House declined to say whether that could happen before a NATO summit scheduled for next month.

With less than a month before alliance members meet July 11 in Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday that the White House was optimistic.

“We are still hopeful that this will get done,” she said, “I don’t have a timeline, certainly. The sooner, the better, as I said, without delay. And so, we’ll continue to be very clear. We’ll continue to communicate that with Turkey.”

Sweden needs unanimous support from all 31 NATO members before it can join. So far, all but Hungary and Turkey have given it, diminishing hopes that Sweden can join by the summit.

Ankara has accused Stockholm of not doing enough to crack down on its branch of a political party that Turkey’s government sees as extremists. And Hungary’s leader objects to Sweden’s criticism of his record on democracy and the rule of law.

Sweden and Finland applied jointly for NATO membership last May, with both Nordic nations citing overwhelming popular support for the idea amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Finland’s membership was finalized in April.

On Wednesday, newly reelected Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters, “The expectations of Sweden do not mean that we will comply with these expectations. In order for us to comply with these expectations, first of all, Sweden must do its part.”

Meanwhile, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday that his staff had reported that a meeting between Sweden and Turkey “took place in a constructive atmosphere.”

“Some progress has been made,” he said.

F-16 leverage

Stoltenberg cited the recent extradition from Sweden of suspects related to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, known as the PKK.

“This is good for the fight against terrorism, but also good for Sweden’s efforts to fight organized crime in Sweden, because these groups are very often linked,” he said Wednesday in Brussels.

But Erdogan on Wednesday took a harder line, telling journalists, “What we told [Stoltenberg] was this: ‘If you expect us to respond to Sweden’s expectations, first of all, Sweden must erase what this terrorist organization has done.’ While we were expressing these to Stoltenberg at that particular time, unfortunately, terrorists were demonstrating again in the streets in Sweden.”

Michael Kimmage, a professor at Catholic University and a senior nonresident fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told VOA that “there are a few bona fide issues, and then there’s also a little bit of gamesmanship that Ankara is engaging in.”

One thing he pointed to — which Erdogan did not mention Wednesday when speaking to journalists — is that Turkey is seeking to buy 40 American F-16 fighter jets and modernization kits, a purchase that needs congressional approval.

Biden, who called Erdogan in May, has framed the deal for the jets as Washington’s leverage for fast-tracking Turkey’s decision on Sweden.

“He still wants to work on something on the F-16s,” Biden said late last month. “I told him we wanted a deal with Sweden, so let’s get that done.”

The Orban obstacle

Washington appears to be taking a harder line with the other holdout, Hungary. Prime Minister Viktor Orban has bristled under Western criticism — backed up by prominent rights watchdogs — accusing his administration of violating civil liberties, media freedom, the rule of law and democratic governance.

This week, Senator James Risch, the top Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, moved unilaterally to block a $735 million U.S. arms sale to Hungary.

“For some time now, I have directly expressed my concerns to the Hungarian government regarding its refusal to move forward a vote for Sweden to join NATO,” he told U.S. media. “The fact that it is now June and still not done, I decided that the sale of new U.S. military equipment to Hungary will be on hold.”

Analysts say Orban — who has tightened his grip on power — can be unpredictable.

“It is fair to say that he is the loose cannon within NATO and EU,” Jan C. Behrends, a history professor at European University Viadrina in Frankfurt, Germany, said during a discussion with analysts convened by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Europe program.

NATO members agree to come to each other’s defense in the event of an attack. Hungary, a landlocked nation that shares a border with Ukraine, has yet to meet a 2014 pledge to spend at least 2% of its GDP on defense.

And by dragging his feet on letting in two larger, wealthier nations, analysts argue Orban is acting against his own interests.

“Delaying the NATO accession of Finland and further blocking that of Sweden similarly have no justifiable reason and are harmful from a security perspective,” said Zsuzsanna Vegh of the European Council on Foreign Relations.

“What’s more, none of these steps can even be explained by the Hungarian national interest [that] Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Fidesz [Party] is so adamant to protect,” he said.

VOA’s Mehmet Toroglu contributed to this report.
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Aid Organization Warns of Looming Food Crisis in Sudan

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A catastrophic food crisis looms in Sudan if fighting doesn’t stop, said Freydoun Borhani, team leader with aid organization Mercy Corps in Gedaref state, on the Ethiopian border.

“Right now, it’s planting season in Gedaref state, for example. People there must buy seeds for plantation. The price of the seeds go very high. And this creates a problem for the farmer,” Borhani said.

But that’s not the only challenge farmers face, according to Borhani.

“Besides that, the number of people who moved here have created a lack of food in the market, and the price of food is very high, and some people cannot afford to purchase this food,” Borhani said. “Some places, it’s 134 percent increase. Wheat flour, rice or sugar also 100 percent or more.”

Mercy Corps had plans to distribute seeds to about 2,100 farmers in Gedaref, Nyala and Kordofan states, but for security reasons it will be able to give seeds to only 700 farmers in Gedaref starting next week.

The latest 24-hour cease-fire negotiated by the United States and Saudi Arabia expired early Sunday, and the war is showing no signs of ending, as fighting continues in parts of the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere.

Kenya’s President William Ruto said he and other East African leaders plan to meet the Sudanese generals in person next week to discuss ways to end the war. The announcement follows a gathering of heads of states and government convened by the East African bloc IGAD, or Intergovernmental Authority on Development, in Djibouti earlier this week.

 

“We have taken the decision that the quartet of Kenya, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Somalia will in the next 10 days meet face to face with General [Abdel Fattah al-] Burhan and General [Mohamed Hamdan] Dagalo in a face-to-face engagement, so we can speak to them directly on behalf of IGAD with a view of stopping the war that is raging in Sudan,” Ruto said following the IGAD talks.

Macharia Munene, professor of history and international relations at the United States International University in Nairobi, told VOA the in-person meeting with the two generals is a good step but there are more factors at play.

“The problem with IGAD and AU [African Union] is that it depends on the EU [European Union] and external forces of resources to operate,” Munene said. “That’s the main problem … sometimes it’s difficult to agree on anything, in part because the players are dependent on advice and resources from outside.”

Abdisalan Adan, education and peace advocate and the director of Maarifa College in Kenya, told VOA bringing them to the table might be the solution, but there’s much to accomplish between now and then.

“First of all, bridging the gap and bringing the trust among the two [generals] and from our side, Kenya, we should see the conflict from a wider perspective, then working very softly in terms of bringing all actors together, international actors together, not only IGAD, but bring on board African Union, European Union and Americans,” he said.

Dr. Edgar Githua, a lecturer at USIU and Strathmore University specializing in international relations, peace and conflict, told VOA that Kenya’s Ruto is a good person to lead the negotiations.

“I think he’s seen conflict within Kenya. Remember, in Kenya we had our post-election violence in 2007, and he was part of that mediating team … so he understands what internal conflicts are all about; in Sudan, it’s an internal conflict, so he understands the dynamics,” Githua said.

Ruto also said officials will try to persuade the warring factions to establish a humanitarian corridor in the next two weeks and, following that, initiate a process of an inclusive national dialogue.

But in a statement on Thursday, Sudan’s foreign ministry said it preferred South Sudanese leadership of the initiative.

Since the war started about two months ago, more than 1.65 million people have been displaced, including more than 1.2 million within the country and about half a million to neighboring countries. As long as the conflict continues, Mercy Corps says humanitarian needs will grow among the populations that were already severely food insecure.
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Guardsman Indicted on Charges of Disclosing Classified National Defense Information

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The Massachusetts Air National Guardsman accused of leaking highly classified military documents has been indicted on federal felony charges, the Justice Department said Thursday.

Jack Teixeira faces six counts in the indictment of willful retention and transmission of national defense information.

He was arrested in April on charges of sharing highly classified military documents about Russia’s war in Ukraine and other top national security issues in a chat room on Discord, a social media platform that started as a hangout for gamers.

The stunning breach exposed to the world unvarnished secret assessments of Russia’s war in Ukraine, the capabilities and geopolitical interests of other nations, and other national security issues.

A judge last month ordered him to remain jailed as he awaits trial, saying that releasing Teixeira would pose a risk that he would attempt to flee the country or obstruct justice.

His family has expressed support for him, and his lawyers had pressed the judge to release him to his father, saying he has no criminal history.
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US Warns of Miscalculation With China Amid Growing Tensions

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The United States is enhancing engagement with China as it sees the potential for miscalculation with its top competitor growing, U.S. officials said.

The U.S. State Department announced Wednesday that Secretary of State Antony Blinken would travel to Beijing this week.

During the trip, Blinken is expected to meet with senior Chinese officials, including Foreign Minister Qin Gang, the department said.

The trip is seen as part of the Biden administration’s effort to mend ties with Beijing after a series of diplomatic clashes between the two countries.

“We’re coming to Beijing with a realistic, confident approach and a sincere desire to manage our competition in the most responsible way possible,” said Daniel Kritenbrink, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, in a phone briefing with reporters on Wednesday.

In the phone briefing, Kurt Campbell, deputy assistant to President Joe Biden and coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs at the National Security Council, said, “Now is precisely the time for intense diplomacy.”

Campbell last week called for maintaining “appropriate diplomacy” with Beijing, saying the potential for miscalculation with China is growing.

He made the remarks at an event hosted by the Washington-based Hudson Institute.

Blinken on Tuesday called for “maintaining open lines of communication” with China to avoid “miscalculation and conflict” during his phone call with Qin, according to a readout of the call from the State Department.

Qin called on the U.S. to respect “China’s core concerns” and “stop interfering in China’s internal affairs, and stop harming China’s sovereignty, security and development interests in the name of competition,” according to a readout of the call delivered by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin.

Analysts say the likelihood of a breakthrough on key bilateral issues remains low during the trip.

“The best that this visit can accomplish is to establish a floor under bilateral relations and pave the way for other Cabinet-level interactions,” said Dennis Wilder, former National Security Council director for China.

“True stability in relations will prove elusive because of the high degree of distrust and the intractable nature of such issues as Taiwan and U.S. restrictions on high-technology exports to China,” added Wilder, who is now a senior fellow at the Initiative for U.S.-China Dialogue on Global Issues at Georgetown University.

“Talking is important even when there are no breakthroughs,” said Patrick Cronin, the Asia-Pacific security chair at the Hudson Institute.

Cronin said both sides may see some progress on Ukraine, trade and climate change.

“Driven by the mutual desire for diplomatic high ground when the leaders meet at a summit later this year, I think Secretary Blinken will be able to find some areas of common interest. A peaceful end to war in Ukraine, initiating a dialogue on AI, trade and climate change are all possible,” Cronin said.

Blinken’s visit to Beijing was agreed upon by Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping when they met in Bali, Indonesia, in November 2022.

That meeting did not provide a breakthrough, but it was seen as an important step in stabilizing relations between the two countries.

But tensions escalated as the two sides clashed over hot-button issues including Taiwan and Ukraine.

In February, Blinken canceled his trip to Beijing after a suspected Chinese spy balloon breached U.S. airspace.

Since then, the U.S. has made steady efforts to resume dialogue with Beijing despite tensions.

In recent weeks, there have been high-level talks between the two sides, a possible thaw in the bilateral ties.

Last week, Kritenbrink and Sarah Beran, the National Security Council senior director for China, traveled to Beijing to meet Ma Zhaoxu, the deputy foreign minister, and Yang Tao, the director of the North American and Oceanian affairs department.

VOA’s Christy Lee contributed to this report.
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Economic Fallout of Sudan Conflict Hits Neighbors

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The international credit rating agency Moody’s and the International Monetary Fund say the Sudan conflict will harm its neighbors’ economies if it continues. In the markets of N’djamena, Chad’s capital, traders and customers alike have already been feeling the pinch from high inflation as the economic fallout of the war threatens their love of hot, sweet, tea. Henry Wilkins reports. (Camera and Produced by: Henry Wilkins)
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Africa Needs Grain Imports, Key Countries Say Ahead of Putin Talks

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Key African countries stressed the need for grain imports to tackle food insecurity as Russian President Vladimir Putin prepares to discuss with the continent’s leaders the fate of a deal allowing the safe Black Sea export of food and fertilizer from Ukraine. 

Putin said on Tuesday that Russia was considering quitting the Black Sea Grain Initiative – brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last July – because its own grain and fertilizer shipments still face obstacles. The pact could expire on July 17. 

A delegation of African leaders is due to visit both Ukraine and Russia soon in a push to end Russia’s 16-month-long war, and Putin has said he plans to raise the Black Sea grain deal. African leaders could also propose to Putin an “unconditional grain and fertilizer deal,” according to a draft framework document Reuters saw Thursday. 

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said he believes Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are aligned with him on the “importance of grain deliveries to Africa for the alleviation of food insecurity,” said Ramaphosa spokesperson Vincent Magwenya. 

“We are therefore not aware of any threats to pull out of the grain deal,” Magwenya told Reuters on Wednesday. 

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that Moscow had not yet made a decision on withdrawing. 

Russia has issued a list of demands it wants met, including the resumption of its Black Sea ammonia exports and reconnection of the Russian Agricultural Bank to the SWIFT payment system. 

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters on Thursday that he hoped the talks between Putin and the African leaders led to “a positive outcome in relation to the Black Sea initiative, as well as in relation to the efforts that we are making for the exports of Russian food and fertilizer.”  

‘Devastating toll’ 

While food and fertilizer exports do not fall under the West’s tough sanctions imposed on Russia over the war, Moscow says restrictions on payments, logistics and insurance create barriers. 

Putin also complained that under the deal “almost nothing goes to African countries” and said Moscow is ready to supply grain for free to the world’s poorest countries. 

The United Nations has long said the Black Sea grain deal is a commercial enterprise, but that it benefits poorer countries by helping lower food prices globally. 

Zambian Foreign Minister Stanley Kakubo said in a statement Wednesday that the war in Ukraine and conflict in Sudan had “taken a devastating toll on African communities, resulting in the loss of life, and food insecurity, due to the rising costs of grain and fertilizer.” 

According to U.N. data, more than 31 million tons of grain have been exported under the pact, with 43% of that to developing countries. The U.N. World Food Program has shipped more than 625,000 tons of grain for aid operations. 

The Black Sea grain deal was initially brokered for 120 days. Russia has agreed to extend it three times but warned on Wednesday that its “goodwill” cannot last forever. 

Not all African states were worried, though. 

“If it’s true that we would starve if that grain deal is disrupted, why is it that it’s the West crying more than us Africans? They are crying crocodile tears,” Uganda’s state minister for foreign affairs, Okello Oryem, told Reuters. 

He added that Uganda would have no qualms about accepting free grain from Russia.
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Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to Native American Child Welfare Law

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The Supreme Court on Thursday preserved the system that gives preference to Native American families in foster care and adoption proceedings of Native children, rejecting a broad attack from Republican-led states and white families who argued it is based on race.

The court left in place the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act, which was enacted to address concerns that Native children were being separated from their families and, too frequently, placed in non-Native homes.

Tribal leaders have backed the law as a means of preserving their families, traditions and cultures.

The “issues are complicated” Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote for a seven-justice majority, but the “bottom line is that we reject all of petitioners’ challenges to the statute.”

Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented.

Congress passed the law in response to the alarming rate at which Native American and Alaska Native children were taken from their homes by public and private agencies.

The law requires states to notify tribes and seek placement with the child’s extended family, members of the child’s tribe or other Native American families.

Three white families, the state of Texas and a small number of other states claim the law is based on race and is unconstitutional under the equal protection clause. They also contend it puts the interests of tribes ahead of children and improperly allows the federal government too much power over adoptions and foster placements, areas that typically are under state control.

The lead plaintiffs in the Supreme Court case — Chad and Jennifer Brackeen of Fort Worth, Texas — adopted a Native American child after a prolonged legal fight with the Navajo Nation, one of the two largest Native American tribes, based in the Southwest. The Brackeens are trying to adopt the boy’s half-sister, now 4, who has lived with them since infancy. The Navajo Nation has opposed that adoption.

More than three-quarters of the 574 federally recognized tribes in the country and nearly two dozen state attorneys general across the political spectrum had called on the high court to uphold the law.

All the children who have been involved in the current case at one point are enrolled or could be enrolled as Navajo, Cherokee, White Earth Band of Ojibwe and Ysleta del Sur Pueblo. Some of the adoptions have been finalized while some are still being challenged.

The high court had twice taken up cases on the Indian Child Welfare Act before, in 1989 and in 2013, that have stirred immense emotion.

Before the Indian Child Welfare Act was enacted, between 25% and 35% of Native American children were being taken from their homes and placed with adoptive families, in foster care or in institutions. Most were placed with white families or in boarding schools in attempts to assimilate them.

 
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Spain Must Better Prepare for Wildfires Driven by Climate Change, Experts Say 

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Spain must do more to prepare for increasingly virulent wildfires stoked by climate change, a large group of the country’s leading wildfire prevention experts said Thursday. 

A declaration backed by 60 experts and institutions said the “increasingly intense fires … are producing unprecedented ecological and social consequences.” 

The experts concluded that Spanish society must come to terms with the emergencies that it will likely face, given that wildfires in increasingly hot and dry conditions in the Iberian Peninsula are often “beyond the capability [of firefighters] to extinguish” with their own means. 

The declaration was the outcome of a two-day meeting in Madrid in March organized by the Pau Costa Foundation, a nonprofit group based in Barcelona that works for fire prevention awareness. That meeting included wildlife and forestry experts drawn from government, academia, NGOs such as Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund, and firefighting services. 

They urged Spain to increase its management of wooded areas to compensate for the abandonment of traditional forest industries and to quadruple its budget for prevention. 

Only about 78,000 hectares, or 0.3% of Spain’s woods, are currently managed, the foundation estimates. The declaration calls for that to be increased to 1%, or 260,000 hectares, and for Spanish authorities to dedicate the necessary resources. 

The report sets a recommended figure of $1.09 billion that Spain should be spending on forest management, to help compensate for the abandonment of traditional uses of wooded areas by local communities, such as taking timber or firewood. 

The declaration was presented Thursday simultaneously in Barcelona and Madrid. 

“This declaration is born from the need to create a consensus and bring together voices from different regions to send a powerful message and increase awareness so we can act and prepare for the wildfires of the future,” Miriam Pique, head of the Sustainable Forest Management Unit in the Forest Science Center of Catalonia, said in a wooded area near Barcelona. 

In Spain, each region is charged with managing its forests and fighting wildfires. That has led to considerable differences in the firefighting muscle of poorer and less populated regions like Castilla y Leon, where one firefighter died last year in massive blazes, compared with wealthier ones like Madrid’s central region or northeast Catalonia. 

The emergency firefighting brigades of Spain’s army are often deployed to help put out the worst fires. 

Some 267,000 hectares burned last year in Spain, making 2022 its worst year of fire destruction since 1994, government statistics said. The national average for the past decade was 94,000 hectares. According to the European Union’s Copernicus satellite observation service, Spain accounted for 35% of all burned land in European wildfires last year. 

After a record-hot 2022, Spain saw the arrival of forest fires earlier than usual this year. Recent rains have provided some relief despite a record-hot spring, but summer is typically dry, and authorities are on guard for another difficult season.
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US Criticizes Afghanistan, Russia, Others in Human Trafficking Report

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The U.S. government has released its annual report surveying human trafficking around the world, and Afghanistan, China and Russia are among the countries noted as trouble spots.

Burma, Cambodia, Eritrea, North Korea, South Sudan and Venezuela are also among the 24 nations included in the lowest and most troubling Tier 3 category in the State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons report.

Tier 3 countries fall below minimum standards and haven’t demonstrated significant efforts to come into compliance. They are subject to potential sanctions.

The report also lists Libya, Somalia and Yemen as “special cases,” where civil conflicts create difficulties in gaining information.

This year’s report, according to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, highlights several concerning trends – an increase in the trafficking of boys and young men, the continued expansion of forced labor and a rise in labor trafficking using online scams.

“The [coronavirus] pandemic supercharged this trend,” Blinken said. “Traffickers capitalized on widespread unemployment to recruit victims with fake job listings and then force them to run international scams.”

Blinken also highlighted steady progress in the 2023 report, with dozens of countries around the world making significant strides in preventing trafficking, protecting survivors and prosecuting those who carry out such crimes.

 
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Chinese EV Makers Make Progress in Bid to Dominate British Market

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Chinese manufacturers of electric vehicles are stepping up their push to dominate the European market. As Amy Guttman reports from London, they are making progress in Britain, where car shoppers are eager to buy the lower-cost electric cars that Chinese automakers are offering.
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Farmers in Ghana Embrace New Methods to Reduce Post-Harvest Food Loss

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Farmers in Ghana are embracing new methods to reduce food spoilage after the harvest and boost their revenue streams. The changes are coming at a crucial time. The West African country’s post-harvest loss rate has steadily increased in recent years, affected by storage difficulties and dwindling means of export. Nneka Chile reports from Accra, Ghana.
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Slow Transition to Civilian Rule in Chad Sparks International Concerns

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Analysts say the international community is reluctant to put pressure on the Chadian government to transition to civilian rule. In this report from N’djamena, reporter Henry Wilkins speaks to one man arrested during protests against the junta and local politicians who say civilians need political representation to air their grievances against the state.
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Washington Nonprofit Helps Ukrainian Refugees Learn English

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A nonprofit in Washington is helping refugees from around the world learn English. Ksenia Turkova met with some Ukrainians who wound up in the U.S. capital and are learning English. Camera: Bogdan Osyka.
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How China Operates Covert ‘Police Precincts’ Around the Globe

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In April, the FBI arrested two men accused of operating a secret police station in New York City on behalf of the government of the People’s Republic of China. Similar covert operations have been reported in dozens of cities around the world. Human rights groups investigating these so-called precincts say they’re being used to go after Chinese dissidents living overseas. How do these outposts operate, what are the concerns, and what’s being done to stop them?
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Sudan’s Conflict Enters Third Month

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Sudan’s devastating war raged into a third month on Thursday, as a governor’s killing marked a new escalation in the western region of Darfur.

Since April 15, the regular army headed by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commanded by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo have been locked in combat that has destroyed entire neighborhoods of the capital, Khartoum.

The fighting quickly spread to the provinces, particularly Darfur, and has killed at least 1,800 people, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project’s latest figures from last month.

Burhan accused the RSF of killing the governor of West Darfur state, Khamis Abdullah Abakar, in a “treacherous attack” on Wednesday.

Abakar was captured and later killed after he made remarks critical of the paramilitaries in a telephone interview with a Saudi TV channel.

The Darfur Lawyers Association condemned his “assassination” as an act of “barbarism, brutality and cruelty.”

Nationwide, Sudan’s war has driven around 2.2 million people from their homes, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Of these, more than 528,000 have sought refuge in neighboring countries, said the U.N. agency.

“In our worst expectations, we didn’t see this war dragging on for this long,” said Mohamad al-Hassan Othman who has fled his home in Khartoum.

Everything in “our life has changed,” he told AFP. “We don’t know whether we’ll be back home or need to start a new life.”

‘Completely devastated’

“We have nothing left,” said one Khartoum resident, Ahmed Taha. “The entire country has been completely devastated.”

“Everywhere you look, you’ll see where bombs have fallen and bullets have struck. Every inch of Sudan is a disaster area.”

U.S. and Saudi mediation efforts are at a standstill after the collapse of multiple cease-fires in the face of flagrant violations by both sides.

A record 25 million people — more than half the population — are in need of aid, according to the U.N., which says it has received only a fraction of needed funding.

Saudi Arabia has announced an international pledging conference for next week.

Many of the displaced have lost loved ones as well as “all their belongings and livelihoods,” said Anja Wolz of the aid group Doctors Without Borders.

The group, which runs mobile clinics for the displaced in Madani, 200 kilometers (120 miles) southeast of Khartoum, noted a “worrying increase” in people escaping the capital.

Despite dangers and obstacles, latest U.N. figures say aid has now reached 1.8 million people, still only a fraction of those in need.

“We have been suffering and suffering and suffering the scourge of this war for two months,” said another Khartoum resident, Soha Abdulrahman.

The conflict’s other main battleground, Darfur, was already scarred by a two-decade war that left hundreds of thousands dead and more than two million displaced.

No ‘red lines’

The army on Wednesday said the “kidnapping and assassinating” of West Darfur governor Abakar was part of the RSF’s “barbaric crimes.”

Sudan analyst Kholood Khair said the “heinous assassination” was meant “to silence his highlighting of genocide… in Darfur.”

Khair, founder of Khartoum-based think tank Confluence Advisory, said in a tweet it was unclear “what the red lines are anymore,” urging international condemnation “as well as action to protect the people of Darfur and elsewhere.”

Homes and markets have been burnt to the ground, hospitals and aid facilities looted and more than 149,000 people sent fleeing into neighboring Chad.

The Umma Party, one of Sudan’s main civilian groups, said El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur state, had been turned into a “disaster zone,” and urged international organizations to provide help.

The Darfur Lawyers Association described “massacres and ethnic cleansing” in El Geneina carried out by “cross-border militias supported by the RSF” which “serve agendas that have nothing to do with the interests of Darfur or Sudan.”

Daglo’s RSF have their origins in the Janjaweed militias which former strongman Omar al-Bashir unleashed on ethnic minorities in the region in 2003, drawing charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

An army official said Wednesday that the paramilitaries had begun using drones, which an RSF source said they had obtained “from commandeered army centers.”

Both sources spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media.

According to a military analyst from the region who also requested anonymity for his safety, the RSF might have obtained the drones from the Yarmouk weapons manufacturing and arms depot complex, which they overran just days after the collapse of U.S. and Saudi-brokered cease-fire talks.
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Eco-Warriors of Africa

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A terrestrial emergency is unfolding the world over, and Africa is particularly at risk. In addition to the exponential change in weather patterns and food systems already experienced by many communities across the continent, the projected effects of climate change, deforestation, and land degradation could result in the extinction of species and have profound effects on people and ecosystems. The world’s youngest continent is under siege, in particular, the 70 percent of her population who are under thirty, are staring at a bleak future, unless they do something urgently. Juma Majanga looks at how Africa’s young leaders are fighting to save the planet.
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Bill Gates Visits China for Health, Development Talks

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Microsoft Founder Bill Gates was in China on Thursday for what he said were meetings with global health and development partners who have worked with his charitable foundation.

“Solving problems like climate change, health inequity and food insecurity requires innovation,” Gates tweeted. “From developing malaria drugs to investing in climate adaptation, China has a lot of experience in that. We need to unlock that kind of progress for more people around the world.”

Gates said global crises stifled progress in reducing death and poverty in children and that he will next travel to West Africa because African countries are particularly vulnerable “with high food prices, crushing debt, and increasing rates of TB and malaria.”

Reuters, citing two people familiar with the matter, said Gates would meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Gates is the latest business figure to visit China year, following Apple’s Tim Cook and Tesla’s Elon Musk.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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Latest in Ukraine: NATO Discusses More Military Support for Ukraine

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Latest developments:

Speaking ahead of next week’s Ukraine Recovery Conference in London, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country "will rebuild everything, restore everything."
International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi postponed a planned trip to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant on Wednesday due to security reasons.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday the war in Ukraine demonstrates the need to stand with Ukraine and continue to provide support.

Stoltenberg told reporters as he arrived at NATO headquarters that after launching its long-expected counteroffensive, Ukraine has made gains and liberated occupied land from Russian forces during fierce fighting.

“This is due to the courage, the bravery, the skills of the Ukrainian soldiers, but it also highlights and demonstrates that the support NATO allies have been giving to Ukraine for many, many months actually makes a difference on the battlefield,” Stoltenberg said.

He added that the more successful Ukraine is at this stage, the more pressure it will put on Russian President Vladimir Putin to come to the negotiating table and give Ukraine a stronger hand in peace talks.

Stoltenberg said if allies want enduring peace in Ukraine, they have to continue providing Ukrainian forces with military support.

Ahead of the meeting of NATO defense chiefs, the U.S.-led Ukraine Contact Group held its latest session Thursday in Brussels to discuss military assistance for Ukraine.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at the opening of the meeting that the fight in Ukraine “is a marathon, and not a sprint.”

“We will continue to provide Ukraine with the urgent capabilities that it needs to meet this moment as well as what it needs to keep itself secure for the long term from Russian aggression,” Austin said.

He highlighted the need to provide Ukrainian forces with air defense systems that are critical in protecting Ukrainian civilians from Russia’s aerial attacks.

“The Kremlin’s imperial ambitions have inflicted unimaginable suffering on the Ukrainian people, yet the Ukrainians continue to inspire us with their resilience, their bravery, and their unwavering commitment to keep their country free and secure,” Austin said.

Norway and Denmark announced a joint effort to provide thousands of artillery rounds to Ukraine.

“Ukraine has an urgent need for artillery ammunition. We have therefore decided to join forces with Denmark for a new donation, so that Ukraine receives the ammunition as quickly as possible,” Norway’s defense minister, Bjørn Arild Gram, said in a statement.

Ukraine’s military said Thursday it intercepted a Russian cruise missile as well as 20 explosive drones launched by Russia.

In Russian-controlled Crimea, Russian officials said their side downed nine Ukrainian drones.

Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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Survey Finds Concern With US-China Tensions Among Asian Countries

Posted on by SeeUS

Large majorities of residents of South Korea, the Philippines and Singapore all expressed significant concerns about the impact of heightened tensions between the U.S. and China, with many worried that a geopolitical confrontation between the two superpowers could lead to deterioration of their own national security, according to a new survey released this week.

The survey, conducted by the Eurasia Group Foundation, found that in general, the U.S. is held in much higher esteem than China, with 70% of respondents across the three countries reporting a positive view of the U.S., while only 34% said the same of China.

However, the results were highly varied among countries, with a majority of respondents in Singapore reporting a negative view of the U.S. and a positive view of China. The opposite was true in South Korea and the Philippines.

Significant numbers of people in all three countries report having positive feelings toward both the U.S. and China, contributing to the difficulty many face when they feel they are being forced to “choose sides” in the face of great power competition. Across all three countries, 56.9% of respondents agreed with the statement, “My country’s politics will intensify as political parties pick sides in the U.S.-China rivalry.”

Talks ongoing

The survey results highlight the uncertainty surrounding the relationship between Washington and Beijing. Ties have soured over the past year, particularly after a suspected Chinese spy balloon traversed the continental U.S. before being shot down by the Air Force over the Atlantic Ocean in February.

Senior diplomats from both countries have been making cautious efforts to resume dialogue. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has confirmed that he will travel to China this weekend. On Wednesday, the U.S. State Department and China’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that Blinken on Wednesday spoke to Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang in advance of the trip.

In competing readouts of the call, the State Department said that Blinken had stressed to Qin “the importance of maintaining open lines of communication” between Washington and Beijing in order to “avoid miscalculation and conflict.” In addition, he said that “the U.S. would continue to use diplomatic engagements to raise areas of concern as well as areas of potential cooperation.”

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said that Qin had used the call to tell Blinken that the U.S. should “stop interfering in China’s internal affairs” and “stop undermining China’s sovereignty, security and development interests in the name of competition.”

Stressing the importance to the U.S. of maintaining strong relations with countries in the Pacific region, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan will travel to Tokyo this week for discussions with security officials from Japan, South Korea and the Philippines.

Not a ‘monolith’

Zuri Linetsky, a research fellow with the Eurasia Group Foundation and one of the co-authors of a report on the survey, told VOA that the results should serve as a reminder to Americans that there are a variety of perspectives on the U.S.-China rivalry in the Asia-Pacific region.

“There is concern about the U.S.-China rivalry in the region, but having said that, there’s pretty dramatic variation within the region about what that means,” he said. “We need to remember that Asia is large. And it’s not a monolith. And we need to be aware that when we talk about ‘Asia,’ we need to be careful because we lose a lot of nuance.”

Linetsky said one of the most striking findings was the degree of support respondents expressed for U.S. military intervention in the region under certain circumstances. The survey asked respondents to imagine a scenario in which an unnamed nondemocratic country in the region attacked a democratic country with the aim of taking over its territory, in whole or in part.

In all three countries there was majority support for a U.S. military intervention in such a case, and that support increased in the event that the U.S. had an existing defense treaty with the country under attack.

“There was this overwhelming preference for the United States to protect someone that’s been invaded,” Linetsky said. “Even in Singapore that exists. I was rather surprised by that.”

 

South Korea closest to US

Of the three countries surveyed, respondents in South Korea showed the highest levels of support for the U.S., with 82.6% of respondents saying that they hold a “very favorable” or “somewhat favorable” view of the U.S. By contrast, only 14.8% expressed similar views on China.

Asked whether they agreed with the statement, “The United States system of government sets a positive example for my country,” 11.9% of South Koreans said they agreed strongly, while 65.6% said they agreed somewhat. When asked the same question about the Chinese system of government, only 6.6% agreed at all.

Asked whether the influence of the U.S. on their country had been positive or negative over the past five years, 72.2% of South Koreans said it had been either very positive or positive. Asked the same question about China, 14.1% said they believed Beijing had exerted a positive influence.

Philippines mostly in US camp

Respondents from the Philippines expressed almost as much approval of the U.S. as those in South Korea, with 81.6% of respondents saying that they hold a “very favorable” or “somewhat favorable” view of the U.S. However, 30.2% of Filipinos also expressed positive views of China, more than double the rate of South Koreans.

Asked whether they agreed with the statement, “The United States system of government sets a positive example for my country,” 21.2% of Filipinos said they agreed strongly, while 60.9% said they agreed somewhat. When asked the same question about the Chinese system of government, 34% agreed either strongly or somewhat.

Asked whether the influence of the U.S. on their country had been positive or negative over the past five years, 85% of Filipinos said it had been either very positive or positive. Asked the same question about China, 33.5% said they believed Beijing’s influence had been a positive one.

 

Singapore leans toward China

Among the three countries surveyed, Singapore ranked as most favorable to China on most metrics. Asked how they view China, 55.7% of Singaporeans said that they hold a “very favorable” or “somewhat favorable” view of the country. By contrast, only 47.8% of Singaporeans expressed a positive view of the U.S.

A plurality of Singaporeans said they preferred the U.S. government as a model for their country, representing a much smaller margin than their counterparts in South Korea and the Philippines. Asked whether they agreed with the statement, “The United States system of government sets a positive example for my country,” 49.7% said they agreed strongly or agreed somewhat. When asked the same question about the Chinese system of government, 38% agreed either strongly or somewhat.

Significant majorities of Singaporeans said that both the U.S. and China had exerted a positive influence on their country over the past five years, with 69.4% holding that view about the United States and 69.1% expressing that view about China.
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How Trump’s Handling of Classified Materials Compares to Biden, Pence, Clinton

Posted on by SeeUS

Following the indictment of former President Donald Trump in connection with his alleged mishandling of classified documents, the former president and his supporters contend that he is the target of a politically weaponized justice system. They claim that the Department of Justice has ignored similar alleged crimes committed by his rivals, including President Joe Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

In a speech after his arraignment Tuesday, Trump alleged that Biden and Clinton and other former presidents have committed far graver crimes than he has, yet he was the only one charged with felonies. That, he says, is proof that he is the victim of a political witch hunt.

Among other claims, many of which are contrary to evidence, Trump said Biden had “troves of classified documents” from his time as vice president and senator and sent away “1,850 boxes,” and “refuses to give them up.” He added that Clinton “stored vast quantities of classified and sensitive information on an illicit server.”

Biden, Clinton and Mike Pence, Trump’s former vice president, all have faced questions about holding on to government materials from their time in office. And like Trump, Biden is the subject of a Department of Justice investigation led by a special counsel appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland.

Here are summaries of the three cases and how they compare to Trump’s.

Joe Biden

Following media reports in January, the White House disclosed that in November the president’s personal attorneys found classified documents from Biden’s time as vice president stored at the Penn Biden Center, a think tank in Washington.

The White House said it notified the National Archives, which retrieved the documents and informed the Department of Justice. It instructed the FBI to search the think tank, which was done with White House consent. It’s unclear whether they found additional classified records.

Additional classified documents were found by Biden’s personal lawyers at the president’s personal residence in Wilmington, Delaware, which they reported to DOJ. The documents were secured by FBI agents, who found several more classified records while searching Biden’s home with White House consent. The FBI also searched Biden’s vacation home in Rehoboth, Delaware, but did not find any classified materials.

In January, Garland appointed Robert Hur, former U.S. attorney for the District of Maryland, to oversee the investigation. Hur’s probe is ongoing, and it is unclear when it will conclude. The White House has pledged full cooperation.

Mike Pence

In January, Pence’s lawyers discovered about a dozen documents marked classified at his Indiana home and turned them over to the FBI. The documents were found after Pence asked attorneys to search his home “out of an abundance of caution” after the Biden classified document revelation.

A month later, the FBI discovered an additional document with classified markings at his home during their search. That search was done with Pence’s consent.

In June, the DOJ notified Pence that the investigation into his handling of these materials had been concluded and that he would not be charged.

Hillary Clinton

In 2015, Clinton was found to have used a personal email account and a private server at her residence in New York for both personal and official correspondence during her tenure as secretary of state from 2009 to 2013, triggering concerns about security and potential mishandling of classified information.

An FBI investigation revealed that Clinton and her aides had deleted thousands of emails, claiming that they were personal in nature, raising suspicions of attempts to conceal potentially incriminating information.

In July 2016, during Clinton’s presidential campaign, then-FBI Director James Comey criticized her for being “extremely careless” in handling classified information but did not recommend criminal charges against her.

Willful retention

A key difference between the three cases and Trump’s, according to legal experts, is that the former president continued to willfully retain those documents despite repeated government efforts to have them returned, including through a subpoena.

“Acting criminally is to know that you have documents that contain sensitive military information and to intentionally continue to hold them,” said David Sklansky, professor of Constitutional Criminal Procedure at Stanford University to VOA.

Unlike Trump, Biden and Pence handled the discovery appropriately, which ended the matter, said Mark Zaid, an attorney who focuses on national security law.

“The same would have happened with Trump had he cooperated,” Zaid told VOA.

The evidence in the indictment released by special counsel Jack Smith lays out “very, very persuasively” that Trump knew he had classified material, said Alison LaCroix, professor of constitutional law at the University of Chicago.

Setting aside the question of whether Biden and Pence knew they had classified documents in their possession, LaCroix added, “they haven’t attempted to conceal them.”

With respect to Clinton, Zaid added, authorities determined there was no intent to violate the law and that the parties involved avoided discussing classified information.

Hunter Biden

In his Tuesday remarks, Trump alleged that the Biden administration is targeting him to distract from “the real espionage and the real crime.”

“Let’s indict President Trump so they don’t talk about the $5 million bribe,” he said.

Starting in 2019, as he campaigned for the 2020 presidential election against Biden, Trump has alleged that an executive of the Ukrainian energy company Burisma funneled millions of dollars to Biden and his son around 2015, so that Biden, then vice president, would pressure Ukraine to fire the government prosecutor investigating the company for corruption.

In June 2020, the head of Ukraine’s national anti-corruption bureau said that neither Biden nor Hunter Biden, who joined Burisma as a board member in 2014, had anything to do with the company’s corruption case.

A congressional investigation, which later led to Trump’s first impeachment in December 2019, concluded that Trump pressured the Ukrainian government to announce an investigation into Biden, including by withholding military aid to Kyiv.

In January, House Republicans launched an investigation into the Biden family’s business dealings. In May, they released financial documents detailing how some of the president’s relatives were paid more than $10 million from foreign sources between 2015 and 2017 but conceded they have not uncovered evidence of criminal conduct and corruption by President Biden.
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Modi and Biden Poised to Strengthen Tech Trade, Counter China

Posted on by SeeUS

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi makes his first state visit to Washington in nine years on June 21. The trip comes as the United States and India increase cooperation in critical emerging technologies. Matt Dibble has the story.
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NATO Ministers to Review Ukraine’s Short- and Long-Term Needs

Posted on by SeeEU

Ukraine’s security needs, both immediate and long-term, are expected to dominate the discussion when NATO defense ministers meet Thursday and Friday in Brussels, where Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov will brief the participants on the progress of the war.

The most urgent of those needs, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar told VOA in an interview Wednesday, is ammunition for her country to defend its skies against Russian aerial attacks and to sustain its long-awaited bid to recapture some Russian-held Ukrainian territory that began last week.

Kyiv’s longer-term appeal is for early admission to the 30-nation defensive alliance, a request that is likely to get a more serious hearing when the NATO heads of state meet next month in Vilnius, Lithuania.

This week, the ministers are expected to reassess Ukraine’s military needs, coordinate partnerships and review the alliance’s defense capability. The member states are also discussing some measures short of full NATO membership that may be finalized in Brussels.

In her interview, Maliar said Ukrainian forces are moving forward “step by step” in the east and south of the country and have recaptured about 90 square kilometers of territory since the start of the counteroffensive.

But, she said, Russian forces have “increased artillery and mortar shelling, using aviation, making it challenging to advance; there are some difficult weather conditions as well.”

She added that the Russian army is conducting its own offensive operations in some locations, and that Ukrainian forces “are currently in the offensive and defensive stages.”

Maliar confirmed a warning from NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who said in February that Kyiv is burning through shells much more quickly than Western countries can replenish them — a pattern that has accelerated since the start of the counteroffensive.

“Our military is fighting when the enemy has an advantage in weapons. Russia was preparing for this for 30 years; we were fulfilling our international obligation and did disarmament,” she said. “And we need shells. Some days Russians use 70,000 shells per day. The list of our needs we are sharing with our partners regularly.”

Stoltenberg, who visited Washington this week ahead of the Brussels discussions, announced Wednesday a Defense Production Action Plan designed to “rapidly address shortfalls in our stocks.”

Reuters has reported that the Brussels meeting will, for the first time, include talks with the heads of some 20 of the world’s leading defense companies to find a way to boost the production of what NATO calls “battle-decisive” munitions.

Reznikov told VOA in an exchange of emails that he also expects to discuss plans for the introduction of U.S.-made F-16 jet fighters into the war.

“During the meeting, we will discuss the details of the ‘aircraft coalition’ such as the training of pilots, technicians and engineers who will be engaged in aircraft maintenance because it is a very complex system,” he wrote.

“Subject matters will be discussed with the teams of the defense ministries of the Netherlands, Denmark, the USA, and other countries that have joined this coalition. I included representatives of our Air Force in the Ukrainian delegation. Also, everything related to air defense, ammunition shells, and artillery remains relevant. Our priorities have not changed.”

The longer-term issue of Ukraine’s relationship with NATO figured prominently in Stoltenberg’s meetings in Washington with President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, according to Ambassador Julianne Smith, the U.S. permanent representative to NATO.

Smith said during a call with journalists on Wednesday that all of the alliance members are “excited about the prospect” of welcoming Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the summit in Vilnius and that Ukraine’s aspirations for NATO membership will be an essential agenda item at the Brussels meeting.

While there is little prospect of a membership invitation while the war continues, Smith said the NATO members are working in real-time on a more limited support package that will “signal new deliverables in the category of enhancing our political relationship with Ukraine.”

“Not just practical support to assist them in their current efforts to defend their territorial integrity, but practical support tied to the longer-term questions, longer term modernization issues they will be grappling with, questions of standardization, and thinking what type of force they will have in the future,” she said.

Smith added that the NATO countries will not be swayed by Russia’s objections to NATO membership for Ukraine.

“Our positions are clear,” she said. “Russia does not have a voice or a veto on NATO’s open-door policy; we support Ukraine’s aspirations to join the Euro Atlantic community.”
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US Lawmakers Discuss Expectations for Blinken Trip to China

Posted on by SeeUS

Republican and Democrat senators are backing Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip to China beginning Friday but remain skeptical that it will lead to a breakthrough in relations with Beijing.

Blinken is expected to emphasize the importance of maintaining open lines of communication between the two countries and discussing regional security issues, climate change and the global economy. State Department officials also said the issue of illegal fentanyl trafficking to the United States would also be a prominent part of the talks.

Ahead of the trip, VOA’s China branch spoke with several U.S. senators about their expectations for the talks, including whether Blinken should raise the issue of a Chinese spy station in Cuba, which was confirmed in recent days by U.S. officials.

The interviews have been edited for brevity and clarity.

VOA: Do you think China’s spy base in Cuba reflects the scale of China’s infiltration or influence in the region?

 

Senator Bob Menendez (Democrat): I’m looking forward to a briefing on China’s spy station inside of Cuba. Obviously, it now seems that it is not something new, according to published reports. But the mere fact that certainly we didn’t know about it is really alarming to me. And what’s also alarming is that 90 miles [144 kilometers] away from the United States, you have a great opportunity to do significant signal and other intelligence over the United States. I think that any country who wants to allow China to do that from their home base must understand that the United States not only looks at it as a real challenge and problem, but that there must be consequences that flow from it.

VOA: How would you like Secretary Blinken to address this issue?

Menendez: I hope that he will raise it. You know, I don’t want this issue to impede his ability to have his trip and have face-to-face and tough conversations with the Chinese leadership. But I do think you should make it clear that we look at it as an affront, in terms of our own security and sovereignty.

 

Senator Todd Young (Republican): I want to make sure it is a topic of conversation. But beyond that, just emphasize that the American people will be insisting that their government does whatever it can to prevent invasive and unwelcome surveillance activities against the United States. Period. But most certainly those that emanate from our hemisphere, that should be conveyed in an especially powerful way in the wake of the balloon incident that occurred just weeks ago.

VOA: Do you believe China has been taking steps for a meaningful dialogue with the U.S.?

 

Senator Chris Van Hollen (Democrat): Well, they have not engaged in our effort to try to establish a line of communication between our secretary of defense and their minister of defense, which is important to try to prevent accidents or unintended events from spiraling out of control. So, I hope during Secretary Blinken’s visit, we can also resolve them.

 

Senator Tim Kaine (Democrat): Here’s what I believe: Dialogue guarantees nothing, but the absence of dialogue almost always guarantees problems. So, dialogue has no downside and all upsides. And so, we have to keep making the case. And I’m hoping that China will also view dialogue is really important to promote stability to avoid miscalculation, miscommunication.

 

Senator John Cornyn (Republican): It seems like it’s a one-way street to many people from the Biden administration reaching out, only to be met with no response.

VOA: Is this the right time for the U.S. to talk with China?

Cornyn: Well, I think it’s always good for two countries to talk so that they try to understand each other better, so there’s not any mistakes that could lead to conflict.

VOA: Do you expect any positive results [from Blinken’s visit]?

Cornyn: No.

Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report.
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US Attorney General Defends Special Counsel Who Indicted Trump

Posted on by SeeUS

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday defended Jack Smith, the career prosecutor he appointed as an independent special counsel to handle the criminal investigations of former President Donald Trump.

Trump has assailed Smith repeatedly in his social media posts. He has called the prosecutor a “thug” and “lunatic,” including on Tuesday, when Trump pleaded not guilty at the U.S. Courthouse in Miami to a 37-count indictment filed by Smith. The document accused Trump of “willfully” retaining 31 highly classified national security documents and conspiring to hide them when federal authorities demanded he hand them over.

“As I said when I appointed Mr. Smith, I did so because it underscores the Justice Department’s commitment to both independence and accountability,” Garland, the top U.S. law enforcement official, told reporters at the Justice Department he heads.

“Mr. Smith is a veteran career prosecutor,” Garland said. “He has assembled a group of experienced and talented prosecutors and agents who share his commitment to integrity and the rule of law. Any questions about this matter will have to be answered by their filings in court.”

Smith sat behind his fellow prosecutors in the courtroom on Tuesday, and a few meters from Trump at the defendant’s table, but they did not interact in any way.

A Trump lawyer referred to his client as “President Trump,” while the judge conducting Trump’s arraignment referred to him as “the former president” and a prosecutor called him “the defendant.”

Garland’s defense of Smith was the first time he had commented publicly since a federal grand jury charged Trump last week. It was the first time that a former or sitting American president has faced a federal indictment.

No date has been set for a trial, which could come in the first half of 2024, as Trump tries to win the Republican presidential nomination, or even after the November 2024 national election.

Trump has also been indicted by a state prosecutor in New York, where he is accused of falsifying records at his real estate conglomerate to hide a hush money payment to a porn star who claimed to have had a one-night tryst with Trump in 2006. The payment was made just ahead of Trump’s successful 2016 presidential campaign.

Smith is also investigating Trump’s role in trying to upend his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden and the subsequent riot by Trump supporters at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. A prosecutor in the Southern state of Georgia is also investigating Trump’s efforts to overturn his loss there to Biden.

Trump has denied all the charges, calling them a “witch hunt” aimed at keeping him from winning the presidency again. He far and away leads national polls of Republicans for the party’s 2024 presidential nomination. 

When Trump first disclosed he had been indicted, some Republican lawmakers and several of Trump’s Republican presidential opponents accused Garland’s Justice Department of “weaponizing” the country’s judicial system to target Trump while ignoring alleged offenses committed by Democratic politicians. Some of the attacks have continued since then.

But once the 49-page indictment was released on Friday and the critics had a chance to read it, numerous Republicans have adopted a more nuanced position on the charges against Trump, with some still attacking the prosecution but refusing to defend Trump against the specific allegations.

Mike Pence, Trump’s onetime vice president who is now running against him for the Republican nomination, told The Wall Street Journal editorial board, “These are very serious allegations. And I can’t defend what is alleged. But the president is entitled to his day in court, he’s entitled to bring a defense, and I want to reserve judgment until he has the opportunity to respond.”
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