The verdict was reached following a brief trial for Navarro, who served as a White House trade adviser under President Donald Trump and subsequently promoted the Republican’s unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election he lost.

Navarro was the second Trump aide to face contempt of Congress accusations after former White House adviser Steve Bannon. Bannon was found guilty of two counts and sentenced to four months in prison, but he is currently free pending an appeal.

The sentencing of Navarro was set for January 12 by Judge Amit Mehta. In the federal courthouse in Washington, he was found guilty of two misdemeanor counts of contempt of Congress, each punishable by up to one year in prison.

Stanley Woodward, the defense attorney, moved for a mistrial, stating that the jurors had taken a break near where demonstrators and the media frequently congregate outside the courthouse and returned shortly thereafter with a verdict. Mehta stated that he would examine written arguments on the issue before rendering a decision.

Prosecutors alleged that Navarro behaved as if he were “above the law” when he disobeyed a subpoena for documents and a deposition issued by a House committee on January 6.

A defense counsel argued that Navarro did not ignore the House January 6 Committee on purpose. Woodward argued that Navarro instead instructed staff members to contact Trump about what might be protected by executive privilege, which did not occur.

A judge has ruled that the executive privilege argument is not a valid defense against the allegations, as Navarro was unable to demonstrate that Trump invoked the privilege. However, according to Woodward, prosecutors have not demonstrated that Navarro acted “willfully” or solely out of loyalty to Trump.

“Do we know that his failure to comply beyond reasonable doubt wasn’t the result of accident, inadvertence or mistake?” he said.

Prosecutors, though, said Navarro should have handed over what material he could and flagged any queries or documents believed to be protected under executive privilege. They stated that much of the requested information was already available to the public.

“Peter Navarro made a determination. “He chose not to comply with the congressional subpoena,” said prosecutor Elizabeth Aloi. “The defendant chose to pledge allegiance to former President Donald Trump over compliance with the subpoena.”

Trump confronts a federal indictment in Washington, D.C., and a state indictment in Georgia for his efforts to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory. He has refuted wrongdoing and stated that he acted lawfully.

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In its final report, the House Jan. 6 committee concluded that President Trump engaged in a criminal “multi-part conspiracy” to overturn the legal results of the 2020 election and failed to prevent a mob of his supporters from assaulting the Capitol.

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Who was the author of the Declaration of Independence?

Thomas Jefferson initially composed the Declaration of Independence in consultation with fellow committee members John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and William Livingston. It was ratified by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776.

The early celebration occurred in the early days.

During the early celebrations of Independence Day in many U.S. cities, a mock funeral for the monarch of the British Empire was held to symbolize the end of monarchy and despotism and the birth of a nation sworn to uphold liberty, equality, and fraternity.

In addition, ceremonies commemorating the creation of a new nation during those early years included parades, speeches, and toasts. With the emergence of informal political parties, the situation changed. Leaders and constituents began reserving venues in order to associate the day with local and national politics and the problems confronted by the common people. Since the mid-1790s, when the rise of two political parties caused the day to be celebrated differently in prominent cities, politicians have utilized this day to advance their agendas.

During the 19th century, Independence Day became associated with a torrent of bombastic language. Every group, not just the political parties, vied for a piece of the pie as patriotic tradition came to assume a more prominent position.

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How is the holiday currently observed?

Today, the Fourth of July is a significant holiday in the United States and is celebrated with, among other private and public events, fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, and political speeches. During the latter half of the 20th century, its association with politics diminished, and it evolved into a symbol of a united nation gathering together to celebrate its independence.

The post Why and how the US Independence Day is celebrated? appeared first on Republic Aeon.

General Bradley Chance Saltzman, the US Chief of Space Operations, told AFP and a small group of other media outlets that our strategic competitors are making a wide range of weapons.

“The most challenging threat is China but also Russia,” he said, speaking late Saturday on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, listing technologies including anti-satellite missiles, ground-based directed energy and orbit interception capacities.

“We have to account for the fact that space as a contested domain has fundamentally changed. We have to change the way we work in space, and this is mostly because China and Russia have tested and in some cases put into use weapons “he said.

His words are even more important now that tensions between the US and China are rising. This was shown by tense talks about a suspected Chinese spy balloon between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Beijing’s top diplomat Wang Yi in Munich on Saturday.

Blinken told Wang that China shouldn’t do something as “responsible” as sending a balloon over US airspace again. Wang, on the other hand, said that Washington’s response — shooting down the balloon — had hurt the relationship between his country and the US.

Also read: North Korea: it fired ICBM to warn US

Space arms race

The space arms race is nothing new. As early as 1985, the Pentagon used a missile to destroy a satellite in a test.

Since then, the US’s rivals have been trying to show they can compete. China did this in 2007 and India will do the same in 2019.

In February 2020, an American general noted that there were two Russian satellites placed into orbit that were tracking a US spy satellite.

And at the end of 2021, Russia used a missile fired from Earth to destroy one of its own satellites. NATO’s leader, Jens Stoltenberg, called this a reckless show of force.

US Space Operations General Saltzman said, “The enemy is using space to target and extend the range of their weapons.”

“That’s what really changes inside the domain.”

When it comes to their military activities in space, countries are becoming more and more secretive. However, the race is so close that the Pentagon predicted that Russia and China could possibly pass the United States in 2019, which is the year that it will launch its Space Force.

Saltzman disagrees with the idea that the U.S. government is behind.

But the fight has changed. Instead of trying to destroy satellites with missiles or “kamikaze” satellites, people are now trying to find ways to hurt them with laser weapons or strong microwaves.

The general said, “I will always make sure I keep the ability to do the most important jobs, like national command and control or nuclear command and control.”

Responsible behaviour

The Ukraine war has shown how important space will always be in wars, both now and in the future.

Saltzman said, “Space is important to the way we fight now.”

“You can attack space without actually going into space. You can do this through cyber networks or other way US Space Operations. We have to make sure to protect all of these things.”

In addition to more military activity, there is also more commercial production. This could lead to problems like collateral damage, dangerous debris, and a need for an international code of conduct.

AFP was told by Saltzman’s staff that he has never met with his Chinese or Russian counterparts. In Munich, he spoke on a panel and met Norway’s defence minister.

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