The National Interest Foundation Newsletter

Issue 54, July 16, 2020

Welcome to our NIF Newsletter. In this week’s headlines: President Trump commutes the sentence of longtime adviser Roger Stone, China retaliates against a group of American politicians in response to U.S. sanctions of officials involved in Beijing’s mistreatment of Uyghurs, Taliban insurgents attack an Afghan intelligence compound, and thousands of Hongkongers vote to select pro-democracy candidates for upcoming legislative council elections in September.

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Trump Commutes Stone Sentence

President Trump Commutes the Sentence of Longtime Adviser Roger Stone

President Trump signed an executive order commuting the prison sentence of Roger Stone, his longtime friend and adviser. Back in February of this year, Stone was sentenced to serve 40 months in jail after being convicted on seven charges – five counts of lying to Congress, witness tampering, and obstructing an official congressional proceeding – relating to the investigation into Russian election meddling. Trump’s commutation comes days before Stone was slated to begin his incarceration, and also wipes away the two years of probation and $20,000 fine that were included in his conviction. The president’s action was criticized by both Democrats and Republicans, including 2012 Republican presidential nominee and current Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT), who called it “unprecedented, historic corruption.”

China Retaliates Against U.S. Sanctions

China Retaliates Against U.S. Sanctions of Officials Involved in Beijing’s Mistreatment of Uyghurs

Earlier this week, China announced sanctions would be levied against U.S. officials that have spoken out against the Chinese government’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims in China’s Xinjiang province. Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, in addition to the Trump administration’s Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback, are among the officials that have been sanctioned. The move is widely viewed as a tit-for-tat measure after the U.S. announced sanctions on various Chinese officials in Xinjiang, including the Chinese Communist Party’s secretary for the region. During Beijing’s crackdown in Xinjiang, Chinese authorities have arbitrarily detained over one million Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and other Muslim minorities. Detainees are housed in facilities, and the U.S. State Department contends that they have been subjected to torture, forced labor, physical and sexual abuse, and death.

Taliban Attack on Afghan Compound

Taliban Insurgents Attack an Afghan Intelligence Compound

Taliban insurgents killed eleven people during an attack on an intelligence compound in Afghanistan’s northwest city of Aybak earlier this week. The attack began with a car bomb detonated at the entrance of Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security in Aybak, which cleared the way for insurgents to enter the facility. Afghan security forces responded and fought the intruders for a number of hours to re-take the compound. Eleven people were killed and a further sixty were injured during the fighting. The attack on the National Directorate of Security is the latest during a spate of violence by the Taliban in Afghanistan, despite a peace agreement between the group, the Afghan government, and the United States.

Hongkongers Select Candidates

Hongkongers Select Pro-Democracy Candidates for Upcoming Elections in September

More than 600,000 Hongkongers voted to select pro-democracy candidates to compete in September’s upcoming elections for the city’s Legislative Council. Residents turned out in significant numbers, a move that signals continued resistance against Beijing’s recent decision to impose a broad national security law in Hong Kong. The primary was designed to ramp up support for parties across the pro-democracy movement, and the overall turnout tripled organizers’ expectations. The results will be used to narrow down the list of candidates to represent the democratic camp in September’s elections. Voters cast their ballots despite a spike in coronavirus cases, which has prompted authorities to reimpose social distancing measures, and warnings claiming that they were violating the newly-implemented national security law.