They told you the Trump probe followed the rules. Now senators say Jack Smith's testimony may not match what his team actually did. Today we track that fight, Trump's Iran pressure campaign, China's warship strike rehearsals, and the AI hardware push now moving from screen to desk.

On July 16, 1790, President George Washington signed the Residence Act, setting the future capital of the United States along the Potomac River. Congress chose the seat of government, then moved there in 1800.

Power needs a home. It also needs limits.

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Senators say Jack Smith's prior testimony to Congress may conflict with new information about seized lawmakers' communications in the Trump 2020 election probe. Smith told Congress his team did not access the contents of lawmakers' messages obtained during the investigation. Now lawmakers say fresh revelations suggest investigators may have reviewed message content anyway.

They are calling for a federal investigation into whether Smith knowingly made false statements to Congress. That matters because false statements to Congress are a federal crime punishable by up to five years in prison.

Here is the part the corporate press will try to shrink into a process fight. If a special counsel can collect communications from sitting lawmakers, review what was inside, then tell Congress it did not happen, oversight becomes theater. Congress cannot check prosecutors if prosecutors can hide behind secrecy after reaching into the legislative branch.

The issue goes beyond Jack Smith. It is about the tools built during the anti-Trump years, and whether they become normal weapons against political targets. If lawmakers can get swept up, so can donors, activists, reporters, pastors, and local organizers who end up near the wrong investigation.

Watch next for whether Attorney General Todd Blanche's Justice Department opens a formal inquiry and demands the paper trail.

The Epoch Times reports the United States launched fresh strikes on Iran, with President Donald Trump warning Tehran's Islamic regime after the action. The report also says a naval blockade has been reinstated as part of the pressure campaign. That is a hard squeeze on weapons, oil, shipping, and cash. It can deter Iran, but it can also put U.S. forces and energy markets in the retaliation zone.

Trump appeared at the Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, for Day 2 of the Pennsylvania Defense and Innovation Summit. The event brought government officials, military leaders, defense executives, investors, and tech builders into one room. The focus was national security, the defense industrial base, advanced manufacturing, and artificial intelligence. This is where speeches turn into contracts, factory plans, and budget fights.

Trump is again backing Mike Lindell for Minnesota governor, saying the MyPillow founder deserves the job. Lindell stayed loud on 2020 election claims and became a target of Biden-era federal pressure over his activism, according to the report. Minnesota is hard ground for Republicans, which is why this race matters. If Lindell makes Democrats spend real money there, Trump wins even before Election Day.

TechCrunch reports a former SpaceX employee raised $65 million for a startup aimed at modernizing wire-harness production. These cable assemblies connect sensors, computers, engines, satellites, missiles, and launch vehicles. They are often slow, manual, and easy to mess up. Fix that bottleneck and America can build faster. Ignore it and the delays keep hiding inside systems no one sees.

Daily Wire reports satellite images show China using replicas of U.S. ships and other targets at a desert test range in the Taklamakan Desert. One target resembles an Arleigh Burke guided-missile destroyer. Images were reportedly taken in May 2026 and released to U.S. officials in June. Beijing is not just talking about a Pacific fight. It is practicing target sets for one.

The Washington Examiner reviewed Q2 fundraising reports across competitive House races. Democratic challengers posted strong numbers, but many Republican incumbents still hold more cash on hand. That is the early money war. Democrats want to prove they can fund serious challengers. Republicans need to define those challengers early, because a narrow House majority can turn on a few seats.

TechCrunch reports SpaceX shares fell to about $135 ahead of an upcoming Starship launch. The report says investors are reassessing timelines, costs, reliability, and Elon Musk's promises tied to Starship. Space investors love vision, but they pay for execution. A clean flight can reset confidence. A bad one can deepen the selloff across the space sector.

A Blaze opinion column argues the AI age is not just a tech story. It is a fight over human dignity, agency, and whether machines will inherit the moral assumptions of their builders. The author points back to his 2021 book "Human Forever," which he says was inscribed on the Bitcoin blockchain. The core warning is simple: posthuman intelligence may not value what humans call good.

OpenAI announced Codex Micro, a square programmable button pad made with Work Louder. It is built to manage and monitor Codex agents that write code. The Verge notes it closely resembles Work Louder's Creator Micro 2. This is separate from the Jony Ive hardware project. It is a practical test of whether AI tools need physical controls on your desk.

I want you to notice the pattern today. Prosecutors want trust after secret searches. Defense planners want money after supply chains got hollowed out. AI companies want control points on your desk before most Americans understand what agents can do. Trust is earned by proof, limits, and accountability, not by titles.

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Brett Lee
Editor, Project Liberty
projectlibertyus.com

Follow: @projectlibertyus | @real_brett_lee