Supreme Court to hear Trump ballot ban
Biden blasts Trump over Jan. 6 attack
This is a special Saturday edition of ‘Regular Order’ for January 6, 2024:
Mark your calendar for February 8.
Biden speech gets under the skin of GOP lawmakers.
Questions about the health of the Defense Secretary.
BALLOT. Taking a giant step into the middle of the race for President in 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Friday to decide whether the state of Colorado can keep former President Donald Trump off the ballot - due to his efforts to illegally overturn the results of the 2020 election, which culminated in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
ORDER. "The petition for a writ of certiorari is granted," the Court announced without further comment on the merits of the matter. "The case is set for oral argument on Thursday, February 8, 2024."
JUSTICES. This order may be the start of a busy year for the Supreme Court - when it comes to cases involving Donald Trump. Another ballot challenge from the state of Maine is still making its way through the courts, along with legal challenges related to a series of criminal cases against Trump. That's my column today for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
DOCKET. Republicans in Congress welcomed the news. "The Supreme Court must overturn this absurd ruling from Colorado liberals," said Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT). "Liberal activist judges think their hatred of President Trump overrides the Constitution," said Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN). "The Supreme Court can’t let them get away with it."
TRUMP. “We welcome a fair hearing at the Supreme Court,” the Trump Campaign said in a statement. The former President echoed that during a campaign stop. “All I want is fair,” Trump said, as he noted his picks on the High Court. “I fought really hard to get three very, very good people.”
CALENDAR. There certainly was a lot of irony in the timing of this announcement, coming a day before the third anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack - which is exactly what's at issue in the Colorado ballot case (and in Maine as well).
CONSTITUTION. If you go into the Fourteenth Amendment, that bars people from holding office if they have been 'engaged in insurrection.' It's obvious Trump supported the efforts of the rioters on Jan. 6 - but he hasn't been found guilty of anything (at least, not yet).
THE JUSTICES. It seems hard to imagine that this Supreme Court would pull the plug on Trump like that. But I learned a long time ago not to make predictions about Supreme Court cases.
BIDEN. Early in Joe Biden's time in the White House, he would often go out of his way not to mention the name of Donald Trump. But times have changed. Biden kicked off the 2024 campaign year by delivering a full-throated attack on Trump to mark the third anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack, denouncing Trump's refusal to accept election defeat in 2020.
ELECTION. "Trump exhausted every legal avenue available to him to overturn the election," Biden said in his speech in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. "But the legal path just took Trump back to the truth - that I had won the election, and he was a loser."
JANUARY 6. It is clear from his first campaign ad and this speech that Biden will not shy away from bringing up Jan. 6 in this election year, as he slammed Trump and his supporters. "They were insurrectionists, not patriots," Biden said.
VIOLENCE. "I'll say what Donald Trump won't," Biden added. "Political violence is never, ever acceptable in the United States political system, never, never never. It has no place in a democracy," Biden shouted to applause.
GOP. Republicans in Congress were steamed. "His speech vilified the beliefs of millions of Americans and will be seen as one of the most divisive speeches ever given by an American President," said Rep. Gary Palmer (R-AL). "January 6th has become the Democrats favorite day of the year," said Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS).
JANUARY 6. Those quotes from GOP lawmakers reflect what has become a different reality for Trump supporters and elected Republicans about Jan. 6. There is always someone else to blame other than Trump, and the efforts to downplay the violence - by calling it a ‘normal tourist visit’ - are completely at odds with the actual events of that day.
SOCIAL MEDIA. Going through old screenshots from my phone the other day, I stumbled on a bunch of messages sent to me in the immediate aftermath of the attack. It was an eye-opening experience three years later.
DIFFERENT WORLD. "Where was the violence," one person wrote me on Jan. 7. "Maybe I missed the video of protesters beating up someone," he added. (Dozens have been convicted of assaulting police officers that day.)
NOT TRUMP. I remember the anger when I started reporting that Trump supporters were attacking the Capitol. "It was not Trump supporters who attacked the police," one man wrote. "It was at least one bus load of Antifa."
KAREN REB. "How freaking dare you blame a Trump supporter," one woman wrote. "You are a piece of shit." (Something I observed in 2020 was that the most hateful messages directed at me on social media - by far - were usually written by white, southern women.)
DATA. A new poll from the University of Maryland and the Washington Post out this week shows that GOP voters are increasingly sympathetic to those who rioted at the Capitol on Jan. 6. And the differences by party are enormous.
PENTAGON. The Pentagon revealed late on Friday that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was hospitalized back on New Year's Day - 'for complications following a recent elective medical procedure' - no other details were immediately offered by the military.
STATEMENT. "He is recovering well and is expecting to resume his full duties today (Friday)," said Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder. "At all times, the Deputy Secretary of Defense was prepared to act for and exercise the powers of the Secretary, if required."
TRANSPARENCY. Let's get real. While I don't expect a play-by-play of what's wrong with the Secretary of Defense, not telling anyone for five days about his medical problems is very bad form for the Pentagon. We'll see what else comes out about this.
RAP SHEET. Two Proud Boys from Florida, Tom Vournas - aka 'El Greco' - and Leonard Lobianco - aka 'Riddler' - were arrested this week on felony and misdemeanor Jan. 6 charges. Florida has the most Jan. 6 arrests of any state.
PACER. I've read through a lot of Jan. 6 case dockets. This was a first. "Permission to Get a Haircut." There were other notable motions. 'Permission to Attend Appointment at DMV and Celebrate Christmas with Immediate Family.' 'Permission to Go Out for Dinner for Anniversary.' Permission was also granted for the defendant to work at a local liquor store.
MUSE OF HISTORY. January 6, 1873. On this date, Sen. Daniel Pratt of Indiana presented the Senate with a joint resolution from his state's legislature, asking for a change in federal homestead laws. Indiana lawmakers wanted the feds to make it easier for 'honorably discharged soldiers and sailors, their widows and orphan children, to acquire homesteads' in the West.
LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:
The House meets for votes on Tuesday.
The Senate convenes on Monday.
Check President Biden’s schedule.
Follow me on Twitter @jamiedupree.
Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com
If you want to say ‘thanks’ - you can buy me a cup of coffee.
Thanks for putting in some overtime, and especially for those look-backs from J6. We are living in precarious times when large segments of the electorate embrace so much misinformation. That is worse than silly -- it's dangerous.
I remember when I was on Twitter and following you. I'd see the comments you'd get from people that had mentally transferred Boortz's ideology onto you. They would feel betrayed. I imagine you still get those comments. I think I've seen one or two sneak into this newsletter.