Feds hit Trump with revised Jan. 6 indictment
Trump denounces new charges of election interference
Also in today’s edition of ‘Regular Order’ for August 28, 2024:
RFK Jr. will stay on the ballot in some key states.
Trump claims his own Justice Department rigged the 2020 election against him.
GOP attacks Harris over border wall.
TRUMP LEGAL. Ten weeks before Election Day, voters were reminded again of Donald Trump's unprecedented legal situation, as a federal grand jury returned an updated criminal indictment against Trump - over his efforts to illegally stay in power after the 2020 election. The charges were rejiggered by Special Counsel Jack Smith after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled back in June that Trump should enjoy broad immunity against any investigation of his possible criminal actions while in office.
INDICTMENT. "Despite having lost, the Defendant - who was also the incumbent President - was determined to remain in power," the indictment reads, detailing Trump’s numerous lies about election fraud in 2020. "These claims were false, and the Defendant knew that they were false." You can read the full indictment at this link.
CHARGES. The four counts are the same as the original charges brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith:
Conspiracy to Defraud the United States.
Conspiracy to Obstruct an Official Proceeding.
Obstruction of and Attempt to Obstruct an Official Proceeding.
Conspiracy Against Rights.
CALL. The revised indictment again includes the most incriminating piece of evidence against Trump - his Jan. 2, 2021 phone call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, which was recorded and released to the press by Georgia elections officials. "All I want to do is this," Trump told Raffensperger. "I just want to find 11,780 votes."
IMMUNE. I’m sure some of you will say - wait - didn’t the Supreme Court say that Trump has immunity? Yes. But the court’s majority said it applied to ‘official acts’ by a President. That’s why this new indictment focuses only on how the scheme was advanced by people outside of government.
TRUMP. As one might expect, Trump boiled over at the news of the revised indictment, firing off a half dozen posts on his Truth Social website. "Jack Smith, has brought a ridiculous new Indictment against me, which has all the problems of the old Indictment, and should be dismissed IMMEDIATELY," Trump wrote.
“No Presidential Candidate, or Candidate for any Office, has ever had to put up with all of this Lawfare and Weaponization directly out of the Office of a Political Opponent. They’ve Weaponized local D.A.s and Attorney Generals, and anybody else that will listen, to Interfere with the upcoming 2024 Presidential Election - Never been done before. This is now Kamala’s Weaponized System against her Political Opponent. All of these Scams will fail, just as Deranged Jack’s Hoax in Florida has been fully dismissed, and we will win the Most Important Election in the History of our Country on November 5th. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
DEEP STATE. The new indictment arrived as Trump and Congressional Republicans unveiled a new argument about the 2020 election. Trump is now claiming that his own Justice Department - run by the people he appointed - was rigging the 2020 election against him. You read that right.
STOLLEN. Complaining about the Hunter Biden laptop story - which erupted while he was in office - Trump said he was the victim. "The 2020 Presidential Election was MANIPULATED and RIGGED by the DOJ," Trump wrote, not mentioning that he was the President during the entire 2020 campaign.
TIME OUT. Let's think about this argument. Evidently, Biden and Harris were so powerful (during the 2020 campaign), that they controlled the FBI and other levers of power inside the federal government - and were able to use that against Trump. It makes no sense - but we are hearing that from GOP lawmakers.
GOP. Republicans in Congress were furious over the Trump developments on Tuesday. "Americans have seen enough of this deep state witch hunt," said Rep. Russell Fry (R-SC). "The Harris-Biden political prosecutions must end," declared Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY). "Jack Smith should be disbarred," added Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT).
RFK JR. While Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has endorsed Donald Trump for President - even agreeing to serve on his transition team - Kennedy's name will still be an option for voters in several key states. On Tuesday, the Wisconsin Election Commission voted 5-1 to keep RFK's name on the ballot - even though he suspended his campaign last week.
BALLOT. Why can't RFK come off the ballot in Wisconsin and other states? It's too late under existing election law for some states. So, as of now - in terms of battleground states - RFK Jr. is still on the ballot in Wisconsin, Michigan, Nevada, and North Carolina.
BLUEGRASS. While RFK Jr. has taken his name off in states like Georgia, he actually submitted signatures on Monday of this week in order to get on the ballot in Kentucky. Yes - on Monday. What's going on here? Why is RFK Jr. endorsing Trump on one hand but still running on the other - in certain states?
THIRD PARTY. I was really intrigued by how angry Trump supporters were in recent days at any perceived slight for RFK Jr. It's almost like they know that he's working with Trump - not against him.
HAWKEYE STATE. Speaking of ballot access, state elections officials in Iowa meet today in Des Moines to figure out if three Libertarian candidates for Congress should stay on the November ballot. Republicans in the state are trying to get the Libertarians kicked off - claiming they weren't properly chosen by the party.
TRIO. At issue are three of Iowa's four U.S. House districts, where Libertarians Nicholas Gluba, Marco Battaglia, and Charles Aldrich are running. None of them has any significant campaign presence - but in a close race, taking away GOP votes could make the difference (see, Georgia Senate, 2020).
DEM. "To my Libertarian friends," said Democrat Ryan Melton, who is running for Congress in Iowa, and wouldn't mind seeing fewer votes for a Republican incumbent, "I'm rooting for you."
GEORGIA. Vice President Harris gets back on the campaign trail today in Georgia, as she kicks off a two-day swing through the Peach State. We have talked repeatedly about how Donald Trump has not been that active in 2024 - well, Harris and Walz haven't done anything since last Thursday night at their convention. That's five days lost. You can't get those back.
ELECTION. Still feeling good about their convention last week, Democrats say they like what they're seeing in terms of voter registration since Kamala Harris took over the top of their party's ticket. Democratic Party strategist Tom Bonier calls it 'The Harris Effect.'
BONIER. "In the 13 states that have updated voter files since July 21st, we are seeing incredible surges in voter registration," Bonier said, referring to when President Biden dropped out. Bonier says the numbers show the new voters are mainly 'women, voters of color, and young voters.'
TURNOUT. This might sound dumb - but everything depends on turnout. And Democrats know exactly what the formula is for November - getting more people to the polls. Some of that has to do with organization, but a lot has to do with excitement and enthusiasm as well.
BORDER WALL. Republicans in Congress on Tuesday joined Donald Trump in a broad attack on immigration against Vice President Kamala Harris, accusing her of flip flopping on money for a border wall, as they ridiculed Democratic Party policies on border security. "The only thing Kamala will do with a border wall is tear it down," said Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA).
REPORT. The attack was paired with a story which said Harris was now supporting money for a border wall - but we all knew that - because the White House threw its support back in February behind a bipartisan Senate border security compromise, which included $650 million in funding for the border wall.
DEAL. Remember, that bipartisan Senate agreement was really a major legislative victory for Republicans. Why do I say that? Because the deal was tilted in favor of the GOP on nearly every point. But Donald Trump told GOP lawmakers not to approve the plan, and it quickly died.
RECORD. Has Kamala Harris criticized the border wall in the past? Absolutely. Like many Democrats, she routinely derided Trump's obsession with building the wall along the Mexican border. "Trump's border wall is a complete waste of taxpayer money and won't make us any safer," Harris posted on Facebook during the 2020 Democratic primaries.
GATOR BAIT. Remember the story from earlier this month of ex-Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE), who hired a bunch of his former staffers for remote jobs with the University of Florida, where Sasse had become President. They weren't the only ones getting a sweet monetary windfall.
BOBBY BONILLA. As part of his severance deal with the school, Sasse will get paid $1 million per year until 2028 - or until he gets a new job. "Golden parachutes like this should be illegal with taxpayer funds," said Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL).
DESANTIS. Don't forget about one person who is getting some negative press on this - that's Gov. Ron DeSantis, who championed the idea of Sasse being brought in at Florida. There's a much larger matter of Republicans trying to force changes in Florida's university system writ large.
JANUARY 6. The first rioter to enter the Capitol on January 6 has been sentenced to over four years in prison. Michael Sparks jumped through a broken window as Trump supporters forced their way into the Capitol that day. He joined a mob that chased a police officer up to the second floor, just outside the Senate chamber.
RAP SHEET. A Maryland man has been found guilty of forcibly obstructing police on Jan. 6. Justin Lee was among the rioters who tried for hours to break police lines in the Lower West Terrace Tunnel of the Capitol - at one point, he threw a smoke bomb into the tunnel along with other objects.
YOU’RE FIRED. Here’s the ironic part. A year after Jan. 6, Lee was hired as a cop by a suburban Washington, D.C. police department - which had officers injured on Jan. 6 as they were defending the Capitol. After his arrest last year, Lee was suspended without pay. Now, he’s been officially fired.
MUSE OF HISTORY. August 28, 1917. The debate over giving women the right to vote took a rougher turn outside the White House on this date, as ten women suffragists were arrested. It was part of an extended protest outside the gates of the White House, as women were often charged with “obstructing sidewalk traffic.” At first, President Woodrow Wilson resisted the idea of letting women vote. He changed his mind a year later.
LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:
The House is back for votes on September 9.
The Senate returns on September 9.
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It’s inexplicable that Harris/Walz took five days off instead of hopping on a bus departing Chicago to barnstorm and capitalize on their convention momentum. Wasn’t it Walz who said “we’ll sleep when we’re dead”? The only thing that helps is 45 also hasn’t been campaigning (unless you count posting conspiracy theories on his Dollar Tree Twitter from his golden toilet). Plus, Congress has been out of session forever. The House isn’t doing much to help their guy by taking a month’s vacation.
Speaking of ballot access, don't forget the Peach State. An Administrative Law judge ruled this week that four third-party and/or independent candidates are not eligible to be on the ballot (all due to paperwork issues). However, that ruling is not the last word. Brad Raffensperger is actually the one who makes the final decision.