Trump cancels news conference about 2020 fraud

GOP lawmakers feel heat on Biden impeachment

Aug 18, 2023

Also in today’s edition of ‘Regular Order’ for August 18, 2023:

Trump wants his Jan. 6 trial to start in 2026.
GOP his Citibank with subpoena over Jan. 6 help to FBI.
Biden hosts leaders of Japan, South Korea.

ELECTION FRAUD. After promising a Monday news conference to finally reveal real evidence of election fraud in 2020 - as a way to dispute his recent indictment in Georgia - Donald Trump suddenly canceled those plans last night. It was yet another reminder that Trump has never produced a shred of evidence to prove that fraud was why he lost to Joe Biden.

TRUMP. "My lawyers would prefer putting this, I believe, Irrefutable & Overwhelming evidence of Election Fraud & Irregularities in formal Legal Filings," Trump wrote on his Truth Social website. "Therefore, the News Conference is no longer necessary!"
JEOPARDY. Trump’s decision came amid reports that his lawyers were totally against any news conference - worried it could cause more legal troubles for the former President, or create a Four Seasons Total Landscaping type event.
OH SURE. Remember - this is standard operating procedure for Trump. Just like his promise of a new health care plan (in two weeks!), or his never-ending-talk-but-no-action on 'Infrastructure Week,' Trump has never put forward anything close to a real evidence of election fraud.
REPEATED CLAIMS. We're not talking about just one episode. There was 2016 in Iowa. 2016 in California. Claims of fraud in 2018 in Arizona and Florida. And then all of the groundless charges in 2020. It's always the same story from Trump - all sorts of claims, and zero evidence to back it up.

TRUMP LEGAL. Lawyers for former President Donald Trump asked a federal judge in Washington, D.C. last night to start his Jan. 6 trial in - April of 2026. That's not a typo. The feds want it to begin early next year - a difference of over three years. Judge Tanya Chutkan could rule on a trial date later this month, during a scheduled hearing on August 28.

BRIEF. "This is an unprecedented case in American history," Trump's lawyers wrote in their brief filed last night. "The public interest lies in justice and fair trial, not a rush to judgment," as they argued against starting the trial on Jan. 2, 2024. Read the Trump brief at this link.
PERP WALK. It's expected that Trump will go to Atlanta next week to formally surrender and face his charges in Fulton County, Georgia. Whenever it happens, you will see live coverage from inside the courtroom on TV - and there will be a mug shot as well. Those things did not happen in his three other indictments.
DEBATE. We still don't know if Trump will show up at next week's first GOP Presidential debate, which is being held on Wednesday night in Milwaukee. I remember when Trump boycotted a debate in Iowa in 2016 - he held his own counter-rally that night. My bet is that he creates some kind of event as counter-programming to the GOP debate. Stay tuned.

JAN. 6. House Republicans are still mad that some banks stepped forward to help the feds find possible suspects in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, by forwarding financial information on visitors who had made credit card and other transactions in the Washington, D.C. area around that time. A House panel yesterday sent a subpoena to Citibank for more information on what they gave the FBI.

LETTER. "Federal law enforcement's use of back-channel discussions with financial institutions as a method to investigate and obtain private financial data of Americans is alarming," said Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) in a letter to Citibank.
INFO. We already know that Bank of America turned over data on D.C. transactions - and then showed on top of that whether any of those people had recently purchased a firearm. The feds did not subpoena any of that - it was just handed over by the banks, which drew the ire of FBI whistleblowers.
DATA. The FBI has used all sorts of search warrants to gain information about Jan. 6 suspects - from cellphone to email and hotel records. In other words, there's no doubt that the feds could get any financial information they wanted from firms like Citibank. The crux of this issue is whether the banks should be offering up that information on their own. Obviously, Republicans think the answer is - no.

REGULAR ORDER. It’s time for my weekly pitch about this newsletter. Since I can’t go on radio or podcasts, maybe you can help me spread the word about ‘Regular Order,’ which offers a unique inside view from Capitol Hill. Support independent journalism by signing up, giving someone a gift subscription, or you can always just buy me a drink (and I certainly need a few this month).

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TOWNHALL. After dinner with my family last night, I hopped on a telephone townhall with Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), to get an idea what his voters were talking about. It didn't take long for a caller to demand GOP action against President Joe Biden and his son Hunter. "I think they need to be in prison," one woman said firmly.

SKIS. "I understand the frustration," Collins replied, expressing both support - and caution. "What we don't want to do is get way out over our skis too fast," he said. But a few breaths later, Collins wasn't ruling it out. "You throw an impeachment out tomorrow - I'm there. I'll vote for it.”
IMPEACH. Other Republicans have kept up that drumbeat as well during their summer break back home. "We must impeach Joe Biden," said Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL), who filed an impeachment resolution just last week. "It's time to impeach Biden," added Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN).
INQUIRY. That kind of talk is part of the building pressure from GOP voters on House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who has talked about opening an impeachment inquiry against the President. It might be a way for the Speaker to placate lawmakers who want to take action against Biden and his son Hunter.
ACTION. Earlier this week, a group of conservatives led by former Attorney General Ed Meese and Tea Party leader Jenny Beth Martin called for an inquiry when the House reconvenes after Labor Day. Read their letter at this link.
EVIDENCE. But is there actual evidence of wrongdoing? Not all House Republicans think so. For example, Rep. Steube wants to impeach Biden for the drug and prostitution activities of his son. (That’s not how it works.)

SUMMIT. President Biden is at Camp David today, hosting a summit meeting with the leaders of Japan and South Korea. For most Americans, that sounds like a pretty boilerplate gathering. But the history between Japan and South Korea makes this a much more tricky meeting. Like they say on Facebook - it’s complicated.

COOPERATION. "This trilateral summit marks a turning point and recognizes that we have entered a new and more ambitious era," said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, "in which we come together to address unprecedented regional and global challenges."
CONCERNS. Much of the focus will be on Chinese efforts to expand Beijing's influence in Asia, which is about more than just Taiwan. But there's also a dash of Russia added in - with Moscow's recent embrace of Beijing and Pyongyang in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
HEADLINES. The Friday morning headline in the English-language Japan Today newspaper frames this summit perfectly: "At Camp David, Biden aims to nudge Japan and S. Korea toward greater unity in complicated Pacific."

GUNS. The headquarters of the National Rifle Association in the Virginia suburbs outside Washington, D.C. got a little political attention on Thursday from supporters of gun control, who brought almost two dozen empty school buses and did a 'die-in' in the NRA parking lot.

MESSAGE. "We took 23 school buses to the NRA HQ for the 1,252 kids killed so far this year with guns," said Samuel Schwartz, whose cousing was killed in the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida. "We decided to make the museum a little bit more realistic - with dead kids," Schwartz added.
PARKLAND. One of the students who emerged from that tragedy to lead gun control efforts is David Hogg. This week, Hogg launched a group called 'Leaders We Deserve,' which will try to promote younger progressive political candidates, in hopes of bringing change on guns and other issues.

ECONOMY. My column this week for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution sparked social media jabs from both sides, which means I must have touched a nerve. What I wrote was simple - if so many people think the economy sucks right now, what explains why Americans are traveling in record numbers all around the country?

ON THE ROAD. I've been to 22 states in the last year. It didn't matter where I was - the Grand Canyon, Utah, New Mexico, Niagara Falls, and points in between - everything was crowded. Restaurants, hotels, planes, roads, and all sorts of tourist spots. If the economy sucks, that seems like a weird dynamic.
GAS PRICES. I know that inflation has come down in recent months, but if the price of gas is going to jump back over $4 per gallon for any amount of time, that's going to cause some more economic indigestion. And yet - people are still on the road.
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ON THE LAM. A Florida man who was scheduled to be sentenced to prison today for his crimes on Jan. 6 has gone missing. The feds wanted Christopher Worrell to be sentenced to 14 years in jail - but a judge postponed his sentencing hearing scheduled for this afternoon. (Disappearing probably means more jail time.)

PURPLE CAMO KID. The arrests continue in the Jan. 6 probe. One this week tracked down a suspect who repeatedly clashed with police outside the Capitol, known by activists as the 'Purple Camo Kid.' Steven Cook will face a number of charges based on this huge amount of evidence.
BAYOU STATE. A 70-year-old Louisiana man has been arrested for assaulting police at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Ronald Bryan later bragged about attacking officers, as the Vietnam vet said he 'knocked two of them to the ground, took six of them to get me off of them.'

MUSE OF HISTORY. August 18, 1856. We all know the story of the caning of Charles Sumner on the Senate floor in 1856. But there were other violent episodes. On this date, Rep. Lafayette McMullen of Virginia attacked Rep. Amos Granger of New York while they were riding together in a horse-drawn buggy. "McMullen then seized Granger around the neck and holding down his head struck two blows, drawing blood under the eyes and ear," one report noted. Like the Sumner beating, the House refused to mete out any punishment for this attack. McMullen later served in the Confederate Congress.

LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:

The House next has votes on September 12.

The Senate next has votes on September 5.

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