Trump judge orders Bannon to jail by July 1
Dems: No one is above the law
Also in today’s edition of ‘Regular Order’ for June 7, 2024:
Biden to meet Zelenskyy today in France.
Some eye-popping numbers about the Supreme Court.
Republicans talk big - but don’t do much.
BANNON. Almost three and a half years after supporters of Donald Trump laid siege to the Capitol in a bid to keep him in power, the fight over that investigation is still roiling American politics. Yesterday, a federal judge - appointed by Trump - ordered former Trump aide Steve Bannon to prison by July 1 for refusing to cooperate with the January 6 committee investigation. Bannon was sentenced to four months in jail.
TRUMP. The news spurred outrage from Trump. "It would not have mattered whether Steve Bannon, and others, went in front of the Unselect Committee of Criminal Hacks and Thugs," Trump wrote on his Truth Social website. “INDICT THE UNSELECT J6 COMMITTEE,” he added in all caps.
GOP. Republicans in Congress were furious as well with the developments. "We are watching the death of America's legal system as we know it," said Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL). "The Department of Injustice knows no bounds," added Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA).
MRS. GREENE OF GEORGIA. For Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), this was just another example of how House Speaker Mike Johnson isn't doing enough to help Trump. "I swear Democrats would gun down patriotic Americans in the streets and Republicans would just write a strongly worded letter," Greene tweeted.
JAIL. Democrats quietly celebrated the ruling. "In America, no one is above the law: not the rich, not the powerful, and not Steve Bannon," said Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA). "If only more of the judges in Trump cases made the same decision – he could not escape justice by delaying it," added Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA).
THREATS. Outraged by last week's 34 guilty verdicts against former President Donald Trump, a group of GOP Senators publicly vowed to gum up the works this week in the U.S. Senate as retaliation. "We can't proceed with business as usual in the Senate," thundered Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT). It sounded like a big deal - so what happened?
SENATE. Not much. That's because when the Senate is voting on nominations, there isn't much GOP Senators can do to block a federal judge or an Executive Branch nominee. Those nominations get their cloture votes, their two hours of debate, and then a final vote.
LETTER. Lee now has 13 fellow Republicans onboard with his call to 1) block any increase in non-military or non-homeland security funding, 2) not vote for any Biden nominations, or 3) not allow expedited action on bills 'not directly relevant to the safety of the American people.’
RETALIATION. There was a lot of that tough talk from GOP lawmakers this week about revenge over the Trump verdicts. But it’s not clear what Republicans will actually do about it in Congress. That’s my column in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution this week.
ZELENSKYY. In France, President Biden meets this morning with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss Ukraine’s war with Russia. The meeting comes as the House could well debate U.S. involvement in that war next week when lawmakers take up a major defense policy bill, the NDAA.
NDAA. The bill itself doesn't have any grand provisions for Ukraine - much of the language has to do with 'lessons learned' from the war with Russia in terms of what the U.S. military should do in the future on drones, missiles, and more.
CRITICS. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has filed an amendment which would bar any military assistance to Ukraine. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) wants a report on the casualty and equipment losses for both Ukraine and Russia. Other Republicans want a 'strategy' from the President on Ukraine.
SUPPORTERS. Another block of lawmakers would like to see the United States doing more for Ukraine, like more quickly training pilots on F-16 fighter jets, transfer captured Iranian weapons to Ukraine, and vote to allow Ukraine to use U.S weapons to strike legitimate targets inside Russia.
SPEECH. Addressing the 80th anniversary ceremonies for D-Day, President Biden made clear his support for Ukraine's effort to repel a Russian invasion. "We will not walk away," Biden said. "Make no mistake, the autocrats of the world are watching closely to see what happens in Ukraine, to see if we let this illegal aggression go unchecked."
MOMENT. To me, the most memorable moment came when an American D-Day veteran was being wheeled in for the ceremonies. He shook hands with the Canadian Prime Minister, who introduced him to Zelenskyy. The American vet immediately hugged Zelenskyy, clearly excited to meet the Ukrainian leader. “You’re a savior of the people,” he said.
GIFTS. A Supreme Court watchdog group, Fix The Court, put out a mind-bending review yesterday of the gifts given to Justices. "The total is staggering," the group said it had tallied 344 gifts with a value of $4.755 million over the past 20 years. The story was where most of those gifts ended up. You can see the details at this link.
NUMBERS. Who received the most gifts? It wasn't even close. Over the $4.755 million in gifts, $4.042 million went to one Justice - Clarence Thomas. The late Antonin Scalia was second at $210,000. Justice Samuel Alito was next at $170,000.
DEMS. The tally sparked new calls from Democrats for Thomas to resign. "When your values are sold to the highest bidder, you don't belong on the court," said Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX). "Corrupt Thomas should resign," added Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ).
ETHICS REFORM. I’m going to say this again. It’s not a good look for Thomas. This is not a good look for the Court. Just a reminder - the nine Justices of the Supreme Court have the weakest ethical standards in the entire federal government.
REGULAR ORDER. If you're looking for a different kind of present for someone, why not give the gift of straight news with a subscription to 'Regular Order.'
SAVE THE DATE. Congressional Republicans announced last night that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address a Joint Session of Congress on July 24. That's going to produce a bushel full of controversy and political sniping to say the least. And we quickly saw evidence of that from the Senate’s top Democrat.
SCHUMER. "I have clear and profound disagreements with the Prime Minister," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement. "But because America's relationship with Israel is ironclad and transcends one person or prime minister I joined the request for him to speak."
HOUSE INTEL. This week's new appointments by Speaker Mike Johnson to the House Intelligence Committee certainly raised some eyebrows on Capitol Hill. Neither choice is steeped in experience with intelligence - but both are very strong allies of Donald Trump.
PICKS. Johnson tapped Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) and Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX) - and there's no shortage of controversy with either one. Perry defied the Jan. 6 investigation both in Congress and from the Justice Department. Jackson was demoted by the military, and has long been accused of having a drinking problem.
KEYSTONE. Perry made clear he is not going to be on the panel just to be quiet. "I look forward to providing not only a fresh perspective, but conducting actual oversight — not blind obedience to some facets of our intel community that all too often abuse their powers, resources, and authority to spy on the American people,” Perry said.
BLINDSIDED. Maybe the craziest part of this is that Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) - who chairs the House Intelligence Committee - reportedly didn't know the Speaker was making these choices. (They certainly aren’t Turner allies.)
FLAK. Democrats wasted no time attacking the Perry and Jackson picks. "They'll weaponize the Intel Committee to support Trump's agenda," said Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ). "These insurrectionists shouldn't be within throwing distance of our nation's secrets," added Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA).
BICYCLING. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) - well known on Capitol Hill for his advocacy of bicycling as the founder of the Congressional Bike Caucus - has introduced a bill to boost American bicycle manufacturing. "Domestic manufacturing is the missing piece of the bike revolution," Blumenauer said.
HELP. The Oregon Democrat's bill would suspend tariffs on the import of bike components - like brakes, pedals, gears, and frames - to try to entice U.S. companies to build more bicycles here at home. Just look at Schwinn - which was the bicycle of my youth. There are still Schwinn bikes, but they're made in China.
E-BIKE. Blumenauer's bill would also try to spur production of e-bikes in the U.S. with a production tax credit. It also would offer loans to support domestic investment in bicycle manufacturing here in the U.S. You can read more details on his effort at this link.
BEHIND THE SCENES. One of the more popular places to do interviews with lawmakers is at the base of the House steps outside the Capitol. While many members stay inside and use the tunnels to go back to their offices after votes on the House floor, others like to walk outside, where TV cameras and reporters are waiting.
CREDENTIALS. Two times this week, I arrived outside to check on lawmakers and witnessed police telling a group of three men - one with a camera - to get lost, because they don't have press credentials.
GOAL. Why were the police involved? First, it’s an issue of security. When votes are taking place in the House or Senate, only people with the proper credentials (lawmakers, staff, and reporters) are allowed on the Capitol Plaza.
TRACKERS. There are a lot of people who show up on Capitol Hill and try to pester lawmakers - hoping they’ll say something rash on video. They're not reporters - it's more ambush than anything else. This trio didn’t have press ID’s - as police (correctly) held firm and moved them out.
MAILBAG. A good question arrived the other day, in the wake of President Biden's executive actions this week on border security and illegal immigration. D.B. writes, "Will you please explain the difference between Executive Order and executive action?" That is easier said than done.
ACTION. I would define an executive action as a move by a President to have federal agencies change the way laws are implemented and enforced. It might include new rules or regulations, or a change in priority on prosecutorial discretion - like President Obama on DACA recipients.
ORDER. An Executive Order is much more formal - like President Biden's 'Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence.'
TERMS. Let me just be clear - I sure wouldn't want to go into a court of law or a debating society and try to explain the precise difference. That's why I always use the term 'executive action' to cover my rear. I’m sure readers will have many different takes as well.
RAP SHEET. A Texas man who pleaded guilty to felony charges has been sentenced to just over 6 years in prison for his actions on Jan. 6. Andrew Taake used pepper spray and a metal whip against officers at the Capitol. Some of you might remember how Taake was caught - after bragging about his exploits to a woman on the Bumble dating app.
MUSE OF HISTORY. June 7, 1876. On this date, the Senate approved a bill which gave settlers on public lands extra time to preserve their homestead claim, in the face of an invasion of grasshoppers. "The pest is again upon them," said Sen. William Windom of Minnesota. "A great many of those settlers have made valuable improvements upon those claims, and if they do not go back to them, they will be forfeited."
LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:
The House next has votes on Tuesday.
The Senate next has votes on Tuesday.
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.
It makes no sense at all for anyone to still support a proven rapist, adulterer, thief, liar, traitor, convict and loser.
The idea that he’s neck and neck with a decent man is disgusting.
Supreme Court should have 12 judges and a Chief Justice. This would allow each Judicial Circuit to be represented. Specialty Circuit like Patent should have a Justice who is a Patent Attorney. My recommendation for the ‘regular’ circuits would be for the Justices to have s significant connection to that circuit, such as:
Having gone to law school within that circuit or have a decade or more of service within that geographic area.
We currently have TOO MANY IVY LEAGUE educated judges, this skews our laws to a very entitled group.
I do agree that Justice Thomas should resign or be impeached
Justice Alito should be impeached for lying to the Senate during his hearings for we all watched him lie in reference to judicial precedents to n live TV