Three recent news headlines appeared on the front page of the Aug. 2, 2023 edition of the Tacoma News Tribune:

“Trump Indicted on 4 Counts Related to Election Interference”

“Russia Accuses Ukraine of Drone Attack on Moscow”

“Ex Business Partner: Hunter Biden Sold ‘Illusion of Access’”

All three stories had a common theme: Drastically differing and competing accounts of what the truth was.

Headline #1: “Trump Indicted on 4 Counts Related to Election Interference”

In the Trump indictment article, “Special Council Jack Smith secured an indictment in the case from a grand jury in Washington D.C., stating that ‘the defendant’s knowingly false statements were integral to his criminal plans’ to obstruct Congress’ certification of the vote and ‘interfere with others’ right to vote and have their votes counted.’”

Trump’s response came through his campaign; he “derided the charges as ‘fake’ and said he was being indicted again because polls show him as the clear frontrunner to win the GOP presidential nomination for a third consecutive time.”

Headline #2: “Russia Accuses Ukraine of Drone Attack on Moscow”

Russian authorities imputed motives to the Ukrainian military, claiming that “the intensified attacks on the capital region reflect failures in Ukrainian counteroffensive.” Ukrainian President Zelenskyy responded, “‘the war is gradually coming back to Russian territory,’ but stopped short of taking responsibility [for] the attacks.”

Headline #3: “Ex Business Partner: Hunter Biden Sold ‘Illusion of Access’”

Hunter Biden is being investigated by Republicans in the House Oversight Committee. They are trying to link Hunter Biden to his father, Joe Biden, the former vice-president in the Obama administration, implying that both the Bidens illegally made millions of dollars from the Ukrainian gas company Burisma.

After the five-hour closed-door hearing interviewing Devon Archer, a former partner of Hunter Biden, New York Rep. Dan Goldman (D) told reporters that Hunter sold the “illusion of access” to his father. Hunter put his father on a speaker phone, “to impress clients and business associates”, but Joe Biden was never directly involved in any financial discussions, according to Goldman’s account.

Republican Rep. Andy Biggs came out of the interview saying that “testimony implicated the president directly. ‘I think we should do an impeachment inquiry,’ the Arizona lawmaker told reporters.”

A White House spokesman noted, “it appears that the House Republicans own much-hyped witness today testified that he never heard of President Biden discussing business with his son or his son’s associates, or doing anything wrong.”

Headline #1: My take on “Trump Indicted…”:

Clearly someone is telling the truth and someone is lying, unless Trump takes the “George Constanza defense”, arguing that he truly believed the election was stolen. But even if that argument is true, and the election had been stolen, encouraging his followers to “be wild” and to “stop the steal” by sacking the Capitol was an illegal act.

The key to knowing what is truth and what is a lie should be based upon evidence. Is Special Council Jack Smith going on a witch hunt to keep Trump from running as a presidential candidate in the 2024 election? If so, what are the risks and rewards for Smith? If he doesn’t have any real evidence, then he will ruin his career along with his reputation and past track record as an international prosecutor. That seems like a pretty big risk with little reward.

Headline #2: My take on “Russia Accuses Ukraine…”:

There was so much irony in the title of this article. The Russian government accused Ukraine of attacking Moscow, ignoring the fact that President Putin had launched thousands of missiles against Ukrainian cities, especially Kyiv, the nation’s capital. The implication is that it’s perfectly legal and moral to destroy Ukrainian cities and capital in a violent war of aggression against a weaker neighbor, but it’s not proper for Kyiv to respond in kind with a series of drone attacks on Russia’s capital?

In the case of Russia, it is glaringly obvious that Russia’s anger at the drone attacks is an embarrassment of a failed war that is killing thousands of Ukrainians and Russians only to stroke the ego of Vladimir Putin. It’s easy to read between the lines. The truth is obvious.

Headline #3: My take on “…Hunter Biden sold ‘Illusion of Access’”

Someone is lying. The burden of proof lies with the Republicans as the accusers in the Devon Archer testimony. They have failed to provide evidence. All they need to do is to air Archer’s accusations. Their silence speaks volumes.

Truth eventually rises to the surface. Evidence provides the buoyancy.