U.S. to Send Cluster Munitions to Ukraine

Happy Tuesday! Congratulations to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and all, but the real Home Run Derby took place last night on West Potomac Park Field No. 3, where our softball team secured a 21-4 victory over an unnamed think tank.

Quick Hits: Today’s Top Stories

• NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Monday that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan agreed to ask his parliament to greenlight Sweden’s bid for NATO membership, which—if Erdoğan follows through—would end more than a year of Turkish opposition to the move. It’s unclear what Turkey would secure in exchange, but expediting its European Union membership talks and lifting certain defense-related sanctions were reportedly part of the negotiations. Hungary remains the only other holdout blocking Sweden from joining the 31-member alliance, but Budapest’s opposition is likely to evaporate once Turkey’s concerns are assuaged. The announcement comes just ahead of the annual NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, which begins today.
• The European Union and the United States finalized an agreement on Monday creating an independent watchdog staffed by U.S. judges to review complaints from EU citizens who believe U.S. intelligence agencies have improperly collected their online data. The agreement secures tech companies’ ability to transfer personal data between the U.S. and EU, a common practice thrown into legal limbo after the EU’s Court of Justice struck down a previous agreement in 2020.
• Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin on June 29, just five days after the mercenary group’s abandoned mutiny. Peskov claimed approximately 35 people—including Wagner battalion commanders—attended the three-hour meeting and that the Wagner contingent pledged their loyalty to Putin and “the motherland.” Meanwhile, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov—Russia’s top military commander whom Prigozhin allegedly sought to overthrow—appeared on Russian state television in his first public appearance since the short-lived revolt. 
• The Solomon Islands opened an embassy in Beijing on Monday, deepening ties with China after the U.S. reopened its own embassy in the Solomon Islands’ capital, Honiara, in February as part of a push to counter Beijing’s influence in the region. Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare is on a weeklong visit to Beijing—where he’s met with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang—four years after his country cut ties with Taiwan to normalize relations with China. 
• David Weiss, the federal prosecutor who has led the Justice Department’s investigation into Hunter Biden, told the Senate Judiciary Committee in a letter yesterday that he did not request special counsel status, contradicting the claims of Gary Shapley, an IRS whistleblower who has alleged political interference in the probe. Weiss said that he consulted some Justice Department officials about special attorney authority to bring charges in jurisdictions outside his own and that the department assured him he would have the authority should it prove necessary.
• Also Monday, the Justice Department announced charges against Gal Luft, a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen who claimed to have incriminating information about Hunter Biden’s business dealings in China. Luft—whose assertions House Republicans have repeatedly cited in their investigations—was indicted on eight counts yesterday, including Iranian sanctions violations, lying to federal agents, and an alleged failure to register as a foreign agent while “advanc[ing] the interests of the People’s Republic of China.” Luft was arrested in Cyprus back in February, but allegedly skipped bail during the extradition process and is now a fugitive.
• U.S. District Court Judge Terry Doughty rejected a motion from the Justice Department on Monday attempting to delay his wide-ranging injunction that temporarily prohibits government agencies and officials from communicating with social media platforms about restricting speech online. The DOJ then requested the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals issue a stay on the injunction, setting the case on a potential path to the Supreme Court.
• Gen. David Berger stepped down as commandant of the Marine Corps yesterday at the end of his four-year term, leaving the force without a leader for the first time in more than a century as Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville continues to block all military promotions in protest of a Defense Department policy facilitating abortion access for service members. President Joe Biden nominated Gen. Eric Smith, the current assistant commandant, in May to fill the position, and he will serve as acting leader until he is confirmed by the Senate.
• Several potential down-ballot 2024 candidates threw their hats into the ring on Monday. In Nevada, retired Army Capt. Sam Brown—who was severely injured by an explosion in Afghanistan—announced he’s running to replace Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen, setting up a GOP primary contest with failed 2022 Nevada secretary of state candidate Jim Marchant. Texas state Sen. Roland Gutierrez launched a campaign to oust GOP Sen. Ted Cruz, joining U.S. Rep. Colin Allred in the Democratic primary. In Michigan, actor Hill Harper confirmed he is entering the Democratic primary to succeed the retiring Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow.

The Cluster Bomb Controversy

When Russia began dropping cluster bombs on Ukraine in March 2022, international condemnation swiftly followed. “We have seen videos of Russian forces moving exceptionally lethal weaponry into Ukraine, which has no place on the battlefield,” said Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the United States’ ambassador to the United Nations. “That includes cluster munitions.”

Last week, the Biden administration announced it’d do the same, sending cluster munitions to the Ukrainian military as part of the next $800 million aid package. The U.S. quickly updated Thomas-Greenfield’s remarks to clarify it considers the bombs’ use illegal only when targeted at civilians, but the awkward clarification reflects the controversial nature of the materiel. Although useful, the munitions are particularly dangerous to civilians—and Ukraine will have to navigate the tradeoffs as it uses the weapons to push forward its lagging counteroffensive.

Worth Your Time

• Thousands of old telephone wires wrapped in lead and steel are contaminating the ground and water in communities across the country, according to a new Wall Street Journal report. “The Journal’s investigation reveals a hidden source of contamination—more than 2,000 lead-covered cables—that hasn’t been addressed by the companies or environmental regulators,” it reads. “These relics of the old Bell System’s regional telephone network, and their impact on the environment, haven’t been previously reported. Lead levels in sediment and soil at more than four dozen locations tested by the Journal exceeded safety recommendations set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. At the New Iberia fishing spot, lead leaching into the sediment near a cable in June 2022 measured 14.5 times the EPA threshold for areas where children play. ‘We’ve been fishing here since we were kids,’ said Tyrin Jones, 27 years old, who grew up a few blocks away.”
• Historians are abdicating their role as history’s honest brokers, historian Johann Neem argues in a piece for the Hedgehog Review taking on a new book of historical essays. “There is little that is tentative in this volume,” he writes. “The United States is an empire. American exceptionalism is a lie. The United States is xenophobic. There is no complexity. The world is divided into right and wrong, true and false, left and right. There is a lot of either/or but not much both/and. We find few good people doing bad things, much less flawed people achieving good things. Fortunately, most Americans have a much more nuanced understanding of American history than professional historians (or their most vocal right-wing opponents). Most Americans recognize that the past is complicated. We Americans know that we have much to atone for in our past, but also much to celebrate. Americans understand that we contain multitudes. It should give historians pause when the common sense of ordinary American people shows more appreciation for historical complexity than trained experts.” 

Presented Without Comment

Politico: Doug Burgum Is About to Drop Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars on Gift Cards to Qualify for the Debate

Also Presented Without Comment

Mediaite: George Santos Compares Himself to Rosa Parks in Wild Rant: “Neither Am I Gonna Sit in the Back”

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CNBC: AMC Says It Has Already Sold 20,000 Same-Day Tickets for the Barbie and Oppenheimer Double Feature

Toeing the Company Line

• It’s Tuesday, which means Dispatch Live (🔒) returns tonight at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT! Declan will be joined by Kevin, Mike, and Audrey to discuss the news of the week and, of course, take plenty of viewer questions! Keep an eye out for an email later today with information on how to tune in.
• In the newsletters: Kevin deconstructs (🔒) Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s dissent in the Supreme Court’s affirmative action decision, the Dispatch Politics team dives into GOP Gov. Chris Sununu’s role in the New Hampshire primary, and Nick tears into (🔒) President Biden for his refusal to acknowledge his seventh grandchild.
• On the podcasts: Adam is joined by Bonnie Glaser for a conversation about a potential conflict over Taiwan on The Dispatch Podcast, while Sarah and David catch up on all the non-SCOTUS legal news from the last few weeks for the latest Advisory Opinions.
• On the site: Chris argues that Florida is the new capital of the GOP, Thomas Dorsey breaks down the importance of the upcoming GOP presidential primary debates, and Jonathan Schanzer warns of Chinese encroachment on the strategically important Micronesian island of Palau.

Let Us Know

Is the Biden administration making the correct decision by supplying Ukraine with cluster munitions? Do you think the move will save more innocent lives than it costs?