F-35 fighter jets: 10 crashes in 6 years raise alarm over safety

'BILLION DOLLAR BOONDOGGLE'

SENATOR JOHN McCAIN

Facing reliability, maintainability challenges, 10 F-35 Lockheed Martin fighter jets crashed since 2018, mainly in US, according to data compiled by Anadolu

Esra Tekin |Update : 31.05.2024



ISTANBUL

An F-35 fighter jet crashed in the US state of New Mexico on Tuesday, bringing renewed attention to the safety standards of the aircraft.

This was the 10th crash of an F-35 jet since 2018, according to figures compiled by Anadolu from a database maintained by the Aviation Safety Network, which is sourced from media reports.

The development of the fighter jet, which is manufactured by US firm Lockheed Martin, took off back in 1995 within the scope of the Joint Strike Fighter program and 26 years later, its full-rate production started.

Three years before its full-rate production began, the warplane suffered its first crash in its history.

The following is a timeline of major accidents involving the F-35 jet over the past six years:

May 29, 2024

A Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II jet crashed near an airfield in Albuquerque, New Mexico, close to the southern US state's main international airport.

The warplane crashed after departing from runway 21 in the vicinity of the airport, with the pilot ejecting from the aircraft. The pilot was subsequently hospitalized with serious injuries.

Albuquerque Fire Rescue said on X that the pilot of the jet was located and transported while the fire was extinguished.

The crash brought under the spotlight the recurrent concerns about the safety of the jets.

Sept. 17, 2023

An F-35 fighter jet of the US Marine Corps crashed in the US state of South Carolina.

The accident occurred at the Marine Air Station Beaufort in the city of North Charleston.

After switching the jet to autopilot mode, the pilot managed to eject from the aircraft and survived.

Oct. 19, 2022

An F-35 fighter jet went down during its final approach maneuver to land at the Hill Air Force Base in the US state of Utah.

The pilot ejected and survived the crash with minor injuries, while the jet was completely destroyed.

An accident investigation board determined that the aircraft lost control just before landing because of errors in the air data system, leaving the pilot with no chance to regain control.

Jan. 24, 2022

An F-35 fighter jet had an accident while landing on the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier in the South China Sea.

The pilot ejected safely, but the aircraft hit the edge of the ship's deck, slid along its entire length, and then plunged into the sea.

Seven sailors sustained injuries in the accident, which the then-commander of the US 7th Fleet Vice Admiral Karl Thomas said was "the result of pilot error."

Jan. 4, 2022

A South Korean Air Force F-35A conducted an emergency landing at an airbase in South Chungcheong province.

The cause was a landing gear malfunction believed to be related to avionics.

During the landing at the Seosan Air Base, the aircraft also collided with a flying eagle.

The damage sustained by the aircraft was severe enough that it was deemed irreparable and written off.

Nov. 17, 2021

An F-35B aircraft of the British Royal Air Force plunged into the Mediterranean Sea during takeoff from the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier.

The pilot ejected safely and was later rescued. The aircraft was also recovered from the seabed.

Sept. 29, 2020

An F-35 fighter jet of the US Marine Corps came into contact with an extended-range tanker during an air-to-air refueling operation.

The pilot successfully ejected while the aircraft crashed and was destroyed.

The tanker made a forced landing with its landing gear up in a carrot field near Thermal, an area in the US state of California.

May 19, 2020

An F-35 of the US Air Force crash-landed at the Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.

The pilot ejected safely, sustaining non-life-threatening injuries.

The aircraft rolled, caught fire, and was completely destroyed. An investigation concluded that the cause was a combination of unchecked speed during the landing and a problem with the aircraft's flight control.

April 9, 2019

An F-35A of the Japanese Air Force crashed into the Pacific Ocean off northern Japan.

The plane went missing during a training exercise that involved three more F-35A jets.

The pilot died in the accident and his body was recovered months later.

Sept. 28, 2018

An F-35B fighter jet belonging to the US military crashed during a training flight.

The accident occurred in coastal South Carolina, with the pilot managing to eject safely.

The cause of the crash was determined to be a manufacturing defect that caused an engine fuel tube to burst during the flight.

'Reliability and maintainability issues'

According to an annual report published by the US Director of Operational Test and Evaluation, the F-35 Lockheed Martin fighter jets last fiscal year faced ongoing challenges with reliability, maintainability, and availability, with aircraft being ready for missions just 51% of the time, falling short of the targeted 65% goal.

“The operational suitability of the F-35 fleet remains below service expectations and requirements,” the report, which was released in late January, said.

The report also said that the F-35 continues to fall short of the reliability and maintainability benchmarks outlined in the Operational Requirements Document.

Similarly, according to a US Government Accountability Office report released in April this year, the costs “to sustain the F-35 fleet keep increasing – from $1.1 trillion in 2018 to $1.58 trillion in 2023.”

It said the US Department of Defense “plans to fly the F-35 less than originally estimated, partly because of reliability issues with the aircraft.”

“The F-35's ability to perform its mission has also trended downward over the past 5 years,” the report added.

 

WHO: The tobacco lobby targets children and young people

31 May 2024 

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 37 million adolescents between the ages of 13 and 15 use tobacco, and that in many countries the rate of e-cigarette use among teenagers exceeds that of adults, according to the official website of the UNRIC, Azernews reports.

In the WHO European Region, 20% of 15-year-olds surveyed said they had used e-cigarettes in the past 30 days. This shows that the tobacco industry has no qualms about targeting the younger generation.

Deceptive strategies targeting the very young

In its new products, the tobacco industry promotes sweet, innocuous-looking flavors reminiscent of childhood, such as candy, fruit or chocolate, rather than the “tobacco” taste that doesn’t appeal to the youngest generation. In fact, over 70% of young e-cigarette users in the United States said they would stop smoking altogether if the only flavor available was “tobacco”.

The e-cigarette is just as dangerous and addictive as the traditional cigarette, but it is designed and presented as a toy, and at a low price.

‘These industries are intentionally designing products and utilizing marketing strategies that appeal directly to children’ says Dr Ruediger Krech, Director of the WHO’s Department of Health Promotion.

‘The use of child-friendly flavours like cotton candy and bubblegum, combined with sleek and colourful designs that resemble toys, is a blatant attempt to addict young people to these harmful products,’ he adds.

Greenwashing by the industry

Big tobacco companies present themselves as leaders in social and environmental responsibility, but only choose evaluation criteria that give them a positive image.

In an attempt to give themselves a good reputation, they promote simple environmental actions, such as planting trees or collecting cigarette butts on beaches, but in reality these actions have little impact, according to the WHO.

On the contrary, tobacco seriously harms the environment at every stage of its production; cigarette filters, made of toxic plastics, are one of the main sources of pollution.

Since the development of electronic products in the industry, toxic waste has been on the increase, particularly with the arrival of single-use e-cigarettes known as “puffs”.

New product, same danger

Despite existing progress in tobacco cessation, the emergence of e-cigarettes and other novel tobacco and nicotine products poses a serious threat to young people, and even children, and is undermining efforts to combat smoking.

Studies show that using e-cigarettes almost triples the risk of later smoking conventional cigarettes.

These deceptive strategies underline the need for strict regulation to protect young people from a harmful addiction that would last a lifetime.

‘History is repeating, as the tobacco industry tries to sell the same nicotine to our children in different packaging,’ says Dr Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus, Director-General of the WHO. ‘These industries are actively targeting schools, children and young people with new products that are essentially a candy-flavoured trap. How can they talk about harm reduction when they are marketing these dangerous, highly-addictive products to children?’

Combating aggressive industry lobbying

The WHO is calling on governments to take strict measures to protect young people, by banning or severely regulating nicotine-based products, creating 100% smoke-free public spaces and increasing taxes on these products. Raising public awareness of misleading industry advertising and supporting youth-led educational initiatives are also essential.

‘Addicted youth represent a lifetime of profits to the industry,’ adds Jorge Alday, STOP Director at public health specialist Vital Strategies. ‘That’s why the industry aggressively lobbies to create an environment that makes it cheap, attractive and easy for youth to get hooked. If policy makers don’t act, current and future generations may be facing a new wave of harms, characterized by addiction to and use of many tobacco and nicotine products, including cigarettes.’

Police Across Europe Carry Out Largest Ever Operation Against Botnet Network

Published: 31 May 2024

Police say 8 suspects are still at large and have added their names to Europe’s Most Wanted list. (Photo: Europol, License)

By Henry Pope

Law enforcement across Europe dismantled Thursday a cybercrime organization that earned millions through botnets, whose purpose was to create a network of infected computers from which to deploy malware and ransomware against its targets.

As part of Operation Endgame between May 27-29, police arrested four high value targets and took down several droppers—software used to install viruses, ransomware or spyware—the group deployed against its victims.

“This is the largest ever operation against botnets, which play a major role in the deployment of ransomware,” Europol said. The operation was a near continent-wide effort and included law enforcement and cybercrime specialists across 13 countries, in addition to several private security companies.

Droppers are deployed as a first strike tool in malware attacks; they allow hackers to bypass installed security measures and install harmful software of their own. While usually benign to computers themselves, droppers nonetheless play a role in causing serious damage to affected systems.

Specific dropper programs named by Europol include SystemBC, used to facilitate anonymous communication between infected systems and the cybercriminals’ command-and-control servers; Bumblebee, used to deploy phishing campaigns; and IcedID, used as a banking trojan software tool to steal its victims’ financial data.

Other droppers served various additional purposes such as deploying ransomware and enabling remote access to infected systems.

What makes them so dangerous is their evasion capabilities; they can obfuscate their own code to impersonate legitimate software and operate on an infected computer without saving themselves to the local hard drive, thereby making it difficult for security software to locate and delete them.

Once its mission is complete, the dropper can then delete itself and leave the malware installed to run its intended malicious activities.

Police carried out 16 raids in four countries as part of Operation Endgame against the hackers; four arrests were made in Armenia and Ukraine, while more than 100 servers and 2,000 domains were taken down in 10 countries across Europe and North America.

One of the primary suspects reportedly earned no less than 69 millions euros (US$74.8 million) in ill-gotten gains by renting out criminal infrastructure sites to deploy ransomware, Europol said. Their assets are under surveillance and suspect to seizure at the investigators’ discretion.

Eight fugitives linked to the cybercrime ring are still said to be unaccounted for; Germany has issued outstanding warrants in their names and, as of May 30, they have been added to Europe’s Most Wanted list.

 

2024 Canadian Screen Awards: BlackBerry becomes most awarded title in ceremony’s history

May 31, 2024 by Milton Acorn

In an echo of last year’s duel record-breaking performance by dramas The Porter and Brother, both BlackBerry and Little Bird shattered records at the final night of the 2024 Canadian Screen Awards.

But while those first two titles both became the most ever awarded at the CSAs last year with 12 wins apiece, there was one clear winner on Friday. BlackBerry, the cellphone company-centred drama helmed by Toronto’s Matt Johnson, took home three wins: with achievement in direction going to Johnson, performance in a comedy leading role to Jay Baruchel, and the film taking home the top prize of best motion picture.

BlackBerry had already collected 11 trophies at a gala last night that handed out the bulk of the film prizes, nabbing best adapted screenplay, best cinematography and best supporting comedy performer for U.S. actor Glenn Howerton. Its combined total of 14 is above any other film or TV show in the awards’ history — a sort of highly lauded validation of what industry insiders have called a much needed commercialization of Canada’s flagging cinema industry.

But before BlackBerry‘s trio of awards were handed out, Little Bird — the Jennifer Podemski-created series about an Indigenous woman impacted by the Sixties Scoop — briefly held that same title. After entering the day’s bash having already won 11 trophies (including best drama ensemble, best casting and best supporting drama performer for Braeden Clarke) it added two more wins on Friday. It won both of the categories it was eligible for on Friday, with best lead performer in a drama series going to Darla Contois and best drama series landing in its creators’ laps. 

WATCH | BlackBerry dominates CSA nominations: 

‘BlackBerry’ dominates Canadian Screen Awards with record-breaking 17 nominations

Limited series Little Bird and dramedy Sort Of received 19 and 18 nominations, respectively, dominating their fields of drama and comedy. Final gala ceremony to be broadcast on CBC on May 31

That total haul of 13 wins makes it the highest-awarded TV show in CSA history, though it wasn’t the only series to see some love.

Bria Mack Gets a Life won its sole award, though it was a big one — best comedy series. The Crave-hosted coming-of-age story centred around a Black Canadian woman prevailed in a hotly contested category: Crave’s Letterkenny, CTV’s Shelved, and CBC series Son of a Critch and sitcom Workin’ Moms‘ final season were all up for the award. 

Son of a Critch did grab some gold in the end, taking home the Cogeco fund audience choice award. And on the reality television side, Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs. The World capped an impressive performance. After winning six categories on Thursday, it added best reality/competition program or series to its list of accolades.

The annual celebration of the best in homegrown film, television and digital media is run by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television.

The awards themselves — with categories spanning from news, to sports to tonight’s big- and small-screen titles — come at a difficult time for the entertainment industry.

The show’s host, Toronto comedian Mae Martin, took a moment to jest about the industry’s troubled state. During their opening monologue, Martin said several friends had sent them an “encouraging” article in the lead-up to the show with the headline, “Can the 2024 Canadian Screen Awards save a film and television industry in crisis mode?”

Martin joked that they were ready to boost Canada’s screen industry with their comedic prowess.

“I think tonight we’re going to do it!” said Martin. “It’s a lot of pressure on my mild jokes, but I think we can do it.”

How successful they were from an audience perspective is still up for debate: Traditionally, the bash has been broadcast live to home viewers, but this year’s edition will air as a one-hour show consisting of taped tributes and highlights from the two-hour gala.

Appreciation for CSAs

But the Canadian talent at the show itself overwhelmingly voiced their appreciation for the night — regardless of their own wins. 

Speaking at a red carpet ahead of the show, Alexandra Billings — nominated for her performance in Queen Tut — said she was particularly appreciative of the nomination, and the night in general. She said the Canadian Screen Awards allowed space for transgender actors like her, and other marginalized voices, to find support. 

“We need to continue to tell our own stories,” she said. “This kind of thing celebrates that. Not just about the awards, but everyone in one room, that’s community. And that’s the foundation.”

And ahead of her win, Bria Mack Gets a Life creator Sasha Leigh Henry told CBC News the simple nomination was validating to her, and to stories about Black life in Canada. 

“It was really, really, really so special to me, to have people affirm that they felt seen in it,” she said. “So this [nomination] is really the cherry on top of the cake, on top of the sundae.”

And in a somewhat surprising showing, Quebec’s Denis Villeneuve made an appearance to accept the Academy Icon award for his “exceptional, ongoing contribution to the media industry.”

And after assuring that work on the next instalment of Dune was well underway, he also expressed his appreciation for the awards — and the Canadian cinema industry in general. 

“The amount of freedom I had here allowed me to experiment. It allowed me to fail, to make mistakes, it allowed me to grow up,” he said.

“The system here allowed me to find my voice. That voice helped me to work abroad, and that’s why it’s a fantastic place to be a filmmaker in Canada.”

WATCH |  Denis Villeneuve talks about the importance of debuting Dune in Quebec: 

Dune director Denis Villeneuve on premiering the film in his home province of Quebec

Director Denis Villeneuve attended the Dune: Part Two premiere in Montreal on Wednesday. The French-Canadian filmmaker was born in Quebec and started his career in Canada before directing Hollywood films such as Arrival, Prisoners and Dune.

Also awarded on Friday were Children Ruin Everything, nabbing Meaghan Rath an trophy for best lead performer in a comedy (the show’s third trophy of the week), Twice Colonized for best feature length documentary, and Amrit Kaur’s best performance in a leading role, drama in The Queen of My Dreams. That film also took home the best original song award for its track Ishq Ki Na Koi Bhi Hud Hai earlier this week.

The decision to shift from a live show to a “live-to-tape” one — where pre-taped events from previous nights will be spliced into Friday’s show to air later in the evening — was contentious. In an interview earlier this week, Academy CEO Tammy Frick said, “The majority of the show will very much feel like a live show.”

She said the organization listened to feedback on last year’s pre-taped, hour-long telecast hosted by Samantha Bee, which was largely panned for featuring segments taped in New York well ahead of the event.

In the days leading up to the telecast, the experiment drew criticism from industry figures including Eugene Levy, who argued Canadian creators deserved a live celebration.

Conservative Ontario premier suggests immigrants guilty of Jewish school shooting

XENOPHOBIA & ISLAMOPHOBIA REVEAL 

CONSERVATIVES FASCIST UNDERBELLY

Controversial remarks met with calls for apology from other political leaders

30/05/2024 Thursday
AA


Ontario Premier Doug Ford landed in hot water Thursday after implying that immigrants to the province are responsible for a shooting at a Toronto Jewish school, media outlets reported.

“Enough is enough. You are bringing problems from everywhere else in the world, bringing it to Ontario and going after other Canadians,” Ford said.

“That's unacceptable. I have an idea: before you plan on moving to Canada, do not come if you're going to terrorize neighborhoods like this. It's simple as that,” he added, CBC News reported.

Ford made the remarks in reply to a reporter's question about an update on the shooting as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stood nearby. The two were at an unrelated press conference in Toronto. Ford's remarks were quickly picked up by media outlets across the country.

Ford was referring to an incident where shots were fired at a Jewish girl's school on May 25. It occurred around 4.50 a.m. Police said they have security video of the shooting and are searching for two suspects in a dark-colored vehicle but to date have not publicly identified anyone, CBC News reported.

His remarks were quickly denounced, with the provincial leaders of the Liberal, New Democrat and Green parties all calling for Ford to apologize, NOW Toronto reported.

“I'm appalled by the Premier's racist remarks,” New Democrat Party Leader Marit Stiles said on X.

“Dividing the people of Ontario isn't leadership,” Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie posted on X. “Our province deserved better from its Premier. Doug Ford must apologize now.”

Ford attempted to clarify his remarks in a post on X.

“My comments today meant to stress that there is more that unites us than divides us,” he said. “While there will always be room for disagreement, violent acts that target specific religions or ethnicities do not reflect who we are or the values that represent our province.”

OUTLAW PALM OIL

Malaysia calls for greater collaboration with Turkish producers on sustainable palm oil production 

NO SUCH THING AS SUSTAINABLE PALM OIL

Malaysian plantation minister meets Turkish producers in Istanbul to enhance cooperation

07:12 - 31/05/2024 Friday

Malaysian palm oil producers are already in compliance with global standards on sustainability, the country's plantation minister said on Thursday, calling for more collaboration with Turkish producers.

Addressing a news conference in Istanbul after meeting Turkish producers, Johari Abdul Ghani said Malaysia intensified its engagement because the world is very concerned about sustainability.

Malaysia has a four-pronged approach for producing palm oil, he said. They are: protecting forests, sustainability, planning production areas, and complying with international law.

Noting that Malaysia's palm oil export to Türkiye is around 800,000 metric tons, he said Malaysia invites some of its buyers to witness the procedure first-hand.

He said Malaysia's palm oil production has been at the same level for the last 10 years, which shows that the country has not done any deforestation.

Malaysia has signed many international agreements, such as COP21 in Paris to reduce methane gas and carbon emission, he said.

Although there are no proper regulations in the world, Malaysia complies with all targets, he said.

"We also want to play our part to protect the environment. If you compare the US and Europe, our forest coverage is more than 54%. If you compare other parts of the world, they are very much lesser. Some of them are only 10%," he said.

He said that palm oil is the "most productive and efficient edible oil" because every hectare that produces palm oil gives 3.3 metric tons, whereas soybean gives 0.5 metric tons per hectare and sunflower only 0.8 metric tons per hectare.

All Santander staff and '30 million' customers in Spain, Chile and Uruguay hacked

Joe Tidy,

Cyber correspondent
BBC



Hackers are attempting to sell what they say is confidential information belonging to millions of Santander staff and customers.

They belong to the same gang which this week claimed to have hacked Ticketmaster.

The bank - which employs 200,000 people worldwide, including around 20,000 in the UK - has confirmed data has been stolen.

Santander has apologised for what it says is "the concern this will understandably cause" adding it is "proactively contacting affected customers and employees directly."

"Following an investigation, we have now confirmed that certain information relating to customers of Santander Chile, Spain and Uruguay, as well as all current and some former Santander employees of the group had been accessed," it said in a statement posted earlier this month.

"No transactional data, nor any credentials that would allow transactions to take place on accounts are contained in the database, including online banking details and passwords."

It said its banking systems were unaffected so customers could continue to "transact securely."

In a post on a hacking forum - first spotted by researchers at Dark Web Informer- the group calling themselves ShinyHunters posted an advert saying they had data including30 million people’s bank account details

6 million account numbers and balances

28 million credit card numbers

HR information for staff

Santander has not commented on the accuracy of those claims.

ShinyHunters have previously sold data confirmed to have been stolen from US telecoms firm AT&T.

The gang is also selling what it says is a huge amount of private data from Ticketmaster.

The Australian government says it is working with Ticketmaster to address the issue. The FBI has also offered to assist.

Some experts have said ShinyHunters' claims should be treated with caution, as they may be a publicity stunt.

However, researchers at cyber-security company Hudson Rock claim that the Santander breach and the apparent Ticketmaster one are linked to a major ongoing hack of a large cloud storage company called Snowflake.

Hudson Rock says it has spoken to the perpetrators of the alleged Snowflake hack - who claim that they gained access to its internal system by stealing the login details of a member of Snowflake staff.

Snowflake has not confirmed this but notified customers on Friday that it was "investigating an increase in cyber threat activity targeting some of our customers’ accounts."

If Snowflake is proven to be the source of these ongoing hacks there could be many more victims.

Data allegedly stolen from 560 million Ticketmaster users

Scotland's top law officer urged to pursue investigation into Donald Trump's Scottish resorts after historic criminal conviction

By Martyn McLaughlin
Published 31st May 2024

Former US president’s legal woes reignite calls for probe of Scottish properties

Scotland's most senior law officer has been urged to heed long-standing calls to investigate the source of the funds underpinning Donald Trump’s purchase of his flagship international resort after he became the first former US president to be convicted of a criminal offence.

In a historic decision on Thursday night, a New York jury found Trump guilty of falsifying business records to commit election fraud. He was found guilty of all 34 counts he faced, and is due to be sentenced on July 11, just days before the beginning of the Republican National Convention, where he is widely expected to be formally announced as the party’s presidential candidate.

The verdicts have sent shockwaves across the US and intensified debate around the implications for November’s election. However, the fallout is also being felt on this side of the Atlantic, where campaigners say the jury’s decision raises further questions about Trump’s Scottish assets and their financing.

Avaaz, the global activism organisation that led an unsuccessful petition at the Court of Session for a judicial review to force an Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO) against Trump in 2021, said the guilty verdicts further vindicated of its position. The body said it was unclear what more evidence was required by Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC.

Nick Flynn, Avaaz’s legal director, said: “We have always argued that the low threshold for seeking a UWO over Turnberry has been easily cleared. Trump's criminal conviction for fraud, together with the New York Attorney General's reliance on evidence of fraud at his Scottish golf courses in her massive civil fraud claim, vindicate the position we took in our judicial review of the Scottish Government.

“We established then that the Lord Advocate is responsible for using the power to seek a UWO to protect Scotland's reputation for financial probity, forcing Trump to clarify where he got the $60 million [£47m] in cash he used to buy Turnberry. Her failure to act is, frankly, inexplicable now. What more evidence does she need?”

Patrick Harvie, co-leader of the Scottish Greens, echoed calls for a UWO to be carried out in the wake of Trump’s conviction. “It raises even more serious questions about the trustworthiness of the former president, and I hope it will result in further investigations and questions raised about his business here in Scotland,” he said. “I would urge Scottish ministers and law officers to look again at the request for a UWO. If Donald Trump truly is the 'very innocent man' that he preposterously claims, then he surely has no reason to fear questions about his immense wealth and where it has come from.”

Donald Trump was found guilty on all counts at his New York criminal trial. 

Picture: Mark Peterson/Pool Photo via AP

A spokesman for Scotland’s Civil Recovery Unit said: “Civil recovery investigations, which include applications to the court for an UWO, are conducted on behalf of the Scottish ministers by the Civil Recovery Unit, which reports to the Lord Advocate. The CRU does not confirm or deny whether a civil recovery investigation has commenced. This is a statement of policy and, as such, nothing should be inferred, one way or the other.”

The Trump Organisation and Trump Turnberry have been contacted for comment.

Not being convicted felon in 'plus column’: Libertarian candidate

May 31, 2024 by Mark Debra

(NewsNation) — While much of the country was glued to their televisions and phones for updates on Donald Trump’s hush money trial and eventual conviction, Chase Oliver was busy campaigning for president.

“I didn’t pay a ton of attention to the trial itself,” said Oliver, the Libertarian Party’s nominee for president in 2024.

Oliver told NewsNation’s Elizabeth Vargas that he didn’t watch much of the trial but believes Trump will now likely have more to say about the criminal justice system.

“Donald Trump is likely to start talking about the problems with our justice system, the injustices in our justice system. But during his four years as president, there were millions of people who had problems in our justice system that he completely ignored,” Oliver said, referencing Trump’s policies on mandatory minimum sentencing and support for the death penalty.

Bill O’Reilly: Biden should pardon Trump, Hunter Biden

“He starts caring about it once it affects him,” Oliver said.

The 38-year-old Tennessee native who worked in the restaurant business prior to getting into politics said he’s more interested in the Libertarian Party’s platform.

“We’re (Libertarians) for maximum freedom, he said. “Ending taxation, getting rid of all this excess government, and of course, we’re the most pro-Second Amendment party in the United States.”

The Libertarian Party nominated Oliver last week, rejecting former Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. after they each spoke at the party’s convention. Trump appeared at the convention to give a speech that was repeatedly booed by many in the room. It did not pay off with the endorsement he requested.

Oliver, however, walked with the nomination.

Biden calls on Hamas to accept cease-fire deal for Gaza

His campaign website calls for major cuts to the federal budget with an eye toward balancing the budget, the abolition of the death penalty, the closure of all overseas military bases and the ending of military support to Israel and Ukraine.

Third parties have rarely been competitive in U.S. presidential elections, and the Libertarian candidate four years ago won just 1% of the vote.

Oliver acknowledged the party has work to do in getting its message out.

“What we can do is start working towards reducing the state and showing the proof of concept of what limited government looks like — how we actually can increase prosperity for the average American family,” Oliver said.