GOP explodes over Trump guilty verdicts
Jury convicts ex-President on all 34 counts
Also in today’s edition of ‘Regular Order’ for May 31, 2024:
Chief Justice to Democrats: Drop Dead
The Confederacy lives on in the House.
Poll looks at a Graves-Letlow matchup.
GUILTY. Republicans in Congress bitterly denounced the 34 guilty verdicts against former President Donald Trump delivered by a jury in New York on Thursday, as the GOP echoed Trump's charge that he was being unfairly prosecuted. "Today is a shameful day in American history," said House Speaker Mike Johnson. "This was a purely political exercise, not a legal one."
BLUEGRASS. "These charges never should have been brought in the first place," declared Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, who once said Trump could be held accountable by the criminal justice system after he left office. "I expect the conviction to be overturned on appeal," McConnell added.
GOP. Those comments were repeated in both the House and Senate. "This verdict is an absolute miscarriage of justice," said Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH). "Democrats have weaponized our judicial system against President Trump," added Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID).
NOVEMBER. Republicans said they were voting for Trump no matter what as GOP fundraising web pages were swamped. "I’ll vote for Trump even if he’s in a jail cell," said Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA).
REVENGE. Some Republicans immediately called for retribution with local prosecutions of Democrats. "Time for Red State AGs and DAs to get busy," said Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA).
OTHER SIDE. Democrats condemned Trump in more muted tones, as they echoed one main line of attack. "No one is above the law," said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. "America is a nation built upon the rule of law," said House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries. "Responsible leadership requires the verdict to be respected."
MAN BITES DOG. All of those statements from the GOP were pretty much expected. But were there any Republicans who didn't toe the party line? Ex-Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland - who is running for Senate this year - tried to thread the needle. "Regardless of the result, I urge all Americans to respect the verdict and the legal process," Hogan tweeted.
RINO. Needless to say, that didn't go over very well with strong supporters of the former President, and one took to Twitter to immediately rebuke Hogan, who is trying to win a Senate seat. "You just ended your campaign," said Chris LaCivita, a GOP strategist with close ties to Trump.
FREE STATE. Hogan's statement came two days after he released an ad in which he said the GOP could not count on his vote in the Senate - and neither could Democrats for that matter. That's about the only road to victory for a Republican in Maryland, but it's not a way to stay in the good graces of Trump voters.
CAMPAIGN. Obviously, there is a larger question here. What does this historic series of guilty verdicts mean for the 2024 campaign? Republicans argued that it will galvanize Trump’s supporters to get to the polls in November. Democrats hope it will turn off Independents and give some Republicans second thoughts about voting for Trump.
MY TAKE. In a normal situation, this verdict would have badly damaged Trump with Independents and Republicans, and swiftly brought calls for someone else to take his place at the top of the GOP ticket. But today - I’m just not so sure it matters to most Republicans. They are on board with Trump no matter what.
NEVER TRUMP. Republicans who have already broken with Trump - like ex-Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) - said it was time to look for a new candidate. "The Republican Party now has one last chance to change course, and not nominate a convicted felon," said John Bolton, Trump's former National Security Adviser.
JAN. 6. Word of the verdict came yesterday just as I was finishing up another three hours of watching internal security tapes from Jan. 6. What I am still struck by - more than anything else - is that so many people reacted so violently over Trump’s completely false charges that the 2020 election had been stolen.
POST MORTEM. Let’s be honest. From the evidence presented in New York, there wasn’t much question that Donald Trump did exactly what was alleged. He tried to make sure that news of his affair with porn star Stormy Daniels didn't splash on the front pages in the final weeks of the 2016 campaign. He funneled money through Michael Cohen to keep Daniels quiet. But is that a felony crime? Should Trump have been on trial? That's a whole different debate.
FLAG FLAP. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts on Thursday rejected calls from Senate Democrats to meet with them about recusal questions surrounding Justice Samuel Alito in the wake of new questions about Alito’s participation in cases dealing with the 2020 election and Jan. 6. "I must respectfully decline your request for a meeting," Roberts told a pair of Democratic Senators in a letter.
ALITO. While Alito wrote a letter earlier this week to Democrats about his wife and the flags flown over their homes, (“My wife is fond of flying flags," Alito wrote. "I am not."), what if I told you that Alito had written recently about flags in a Supreme Court decision. Yep, he sure did.
SHURTLEFF. In a 2022 decision centered on how the city of Boston let outside groups fly a flag at City Hall, Boston balked at one group which wanted to fly "what it characterized as a 'Christian flag.'" (The Court ruled 9-0 that Boston violated the First Amendment.)
ALITO. In a concurring opinion, Alito wrote about how people interpret the flags that they see. He wrote that a passerby “would likely conclude that all of those flags 'convey some message,'" about the views of the city of Boston.
MESSAGE. From Alito's own words, it seems quite logical to say that seeing the upside-down American flag outside of his house would convey a certain message - especially at the home of a Supreme Court Justice, and especially right after the events of Jan. 6.
MENENDEZ. Overshadowed by the Trump verdict, there was news yesterday about the subject of another politician on trial in New York City - Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ). NBC News reported on Thursday that Menendez has secured more than enough signatures already to get himself on the ballot in November as an Independent.
SIGNATURES. The filing deadline for independent candidates is June 4 - next Tuesday - which also happens to be the date of the Democratic Primary, which will take place without Menendez being on the ballot. Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ) is the favorite. A showdown in November between Kim, Menendez, and a Republican would certainly be a Garden State shootout.
THE ONION. If you needed a good laugh about Menendez, then the Onion came through in the clutch this week. "Bob Menendez Repeatedly Tries To Jam Gold Bar Into Courthouse Vending Machine," the Onion wrote.
CONFEDERACY. House members this week have been submitting amendments to a pair of bills due up in June on the House floor. One funds military construction projects and deals with the VA. The other bill is a major defense policy measure. Only one lawmaker has submitted amendments about the Confederacy to each of those bills - Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA).
MONUMENT. Before Memorial Day, Clyde tried to bring back the Confederate Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery - which was removed late last year by the Pentagon. Clyde not only wants the monument restored, but he also wants a name change to either the 'Reconciliation Monument' or 'Reconciliation Memorial.'
MEMORIAL. But when you look at the sculpture, there isn't much about reconciliation. Among other things, it includes a depiction of a Black 'Mammy' holding the young child of a white Southern officer. It shows a slave following his owner into war. And it extols the Lost Cause.
DEBATE. While Clyde lost in committee, he wants to try again out on the House floor. You can read more in my column this week for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
BAYOU STATE. I've told you how Speaker Johnson and other top Republicans in Louisiana are trying to push Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA) away from the idea of making a GOP primary run against Rep. Julia Letlow (R-LA), after redistricting made the Graves district into one which could likely elect a Democrat. Now we have a poll out on a Graves-Letlow race.
POLL. The survey conducted last week shows Letlow with a small edge that's inside the margin of error, 37.8 percent to 35.1 percent for Graves. Results like that might entice Graves to think that he has a pretty good chance against Letlow - even though she would have the backing of the GOP establishment.
TAXES. The Internal Revenue Service announced Thursday that it will expand a pilot program to all taxpayers - giving Americans a free filing option for their federal tax returns. "Direct File fits squarely into the IRS’s mission to save Americans time and money when filing their taxes," said IRS Chief Danny Werfel.
CONGRESS. Democrats praised the plan which was hatched in the Inflation Reduction Act, and is seen by some as a direct challenge to tax software giants like TurboTax. "Filing your taxes should be easy and free," said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). "This is a huge step toward making this process better for all," added Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL).
RAP SHEET. A South Dakota man has been arrested and charged for his actions on Jan. 6. William Knight fought with police repeatedly outside the Capitol, as he was one of the first to breach outside barriers just before 1 pm that day. He joined other rioters in using a giant Trump sign to ram against police lines.
MOUNT RUSHMORE. There have been five people arrested so far in South Dakota as part of the Jan. 6 investigation, but Knight is the first person who actually was from the Mount Rushmore State. That now means all 50 states have now had arrests.
MUSE OF HISTORY. May 31, 1917. On this date, the U.S. Senate received the Prince of Udine of Italy, who in a speech to Senators thanked America for entering the Great War in Europe. "Every effort of yours to shorten the war will be blessed by millions of human creatures, victims of the greatest barbarity," the Prince said on the Senate floor. Earlier in the week, the Prince had visited George Washington’s birthplace at Mount Vernon.
LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:
The House returns on Monday.
The Senate is back on Monday.
Check President Biden’s schedule.
Follow me on Twitter @jamiedupree.
Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com
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Just curious why I only heard about Justice Alito’s writings about flags from you. Seems like finding Supreme Court opinion wouldn’t be that hard to find and reference. Excellent point I can interject with friends and colleagues today. Thank you.
Wow. The Alito flag thing. We can only get info like that from you. Despite subscribing to major news publications including the NY Times and WaPo, I only saw this from you. Thank you, again, for all you do for us.