Losing Conservatives:

Kansas AG Kris Kobach has lost again, this time to a lawsuit about the legality of the election law passed by the GOP legislation over Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto. The state Supreme Court’s most conservative member wrote the unanimous opinion that supported a lower court ruling against Kobach’s argument that voting rights weren’t protected by the constitution and permitting the legislature to pass any voting legislation it wishes. The debated law would have limited the number of advance ballots one person could deliver to an election office and require election volunteers to verify signatures on these ballots. Kobach’s restrictions came from election fraud concerns although Kansas has no evidence of this fraud.

Republicans think that their anti-abortion position won’t hurt them in the 2024 election, but women throughout the country are fighting for rights over their body. Nine states, some of them conservative, have already passed initiatives to allow abortion deadlines longer than their state laws, and nine more are working on more initiatives for 2024. In Florida, which has banned almost all abortions after the 15^th week of pregnancy, people are gathering petition signatures for a referendum changing the deadline for an abortion to the fetus’ viability, about the 24^th week. Over 150,000 registered GOP voters have signed the petition to extend the deadline, and Republicans are arguing small government, personal privacy, and “an overwhelming consensus of the governed” to pass the referendum.

The law requires verified signatures from almost 891,523 registered voters by the end of December. Over 1.3 million voters have already signed, and almost 690,000 have been validated. In a poll from the University of North Florida, 62 percent support the proposed constitutional amendment, and only 29 percent reject the measure. Florida ballot measures require a supermajority of 60 percent approval to be enacted. GOP presidential candidate Deposed Donald Trump (DDT) has condemned the six-week ban on abortion which another presidential candidate, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis endorsed.  

Idaho’s strict anti-abortion laws have infringed on the rights to contraception, and women are organizing to oppose this restriction. Republicans lack an understanding of the difference between birth control and abortifacients such as the abortion-inducing drug mifepristone.

Another likely loser is DDT’s former chief-of-staff Mark Meadows the co-defendant in the Georgia RICO who returned to court to move his own case into federal court. A three-judge panel from the 11^th Circuit Court appeared doubtful that the case should be moved. The law allows federal officials to move legal cases related to official duties. In September, U.S. district judge Steve Jones ruled against Meadows’ move because “political activity” is outside the scope of his duties. Meadows appealed the case to the 11^th Circuit Court. 

The law allows federal officials to move legal cases related to official duties, but the panel questioned whether the law applies to former officers or just current ones because the case of a former officer “doesn’t involve the ongoing operations of the government.” Moving the case to federal court doesn’t make it a federal case that a president could pardon. One judge on the panel stated that Meadows’ testimony in the lower court provided no “outer limits” to his duties and asked how that reconciled with the Hatch Act, restricting federal employees from partisan political activity. If the panel rules against him, Meadows can appeal to the entire 11^th Circuit Court and then the Supreme Court.

 Senior officials of the Conservative Political Action Conference knew about earlier sexual misconduct accusations toward its chair Matt Schlapp but didn’t investigate or remove him, according to a lawsuit for sexual battery and defamation. Victims reported Schlapp’s unwanted advances at least twice to CPAC’s parent organization, the American Conservative Union, but no one took action. Additional charges were $3.7 million in punitive damages and costs plus the ACU as a defendant to Schlapp and his wife in the original $9.4 million suit. ACU has already paid $1 million in legal fees as of August. The trial is scheduled for June 2024.

Former Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who resigned after he was ousted as Speaker, has returned to California with no job after he gave his resignation speech to an almost empty House. The last straw for conservative voters may have been his deal with Democrats to pass a 45-day stopgap funding bill to prevent a government shutdown. Ironically, his replacement did the same thing with no reprisal.

Upon his departure, McCarthy had hoped his former district director Vince Fong could be a shoo-in candidate to replace him, but California law has blocked that strategy. Fong already filed for reelection to the state Assembly and cannot withdraw because the deadline has passed. State law also prevents him from running for two offices at the same time. Fong said that he will fight the Secretary of State’s decision.

McCarthy’s replacement for Speaker, MAGA Mike Johnson (R-LA), is running out of favors after hardliner conservatives become increasingly unhappy with him. Some of the statements:

“When you try to please both [sides], you never please anybody…. My thought was always we could shore him up, but I’m not so sure.” – Andy Biggs (R-AZ)

“Yesterday.” – Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) when Johnson should take a hands-on approach to the funding fight

“He’s trying to satisfy all of our conference, which I don’t know that he can…. But you gotta remember this is the first time he’s been in this role, not even as an assistant majority leader, so it’s like drinking from Niagara Falls.” – Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID)

(If he agrees to compromises that the right flank takes issue with), “then the Freedom Caucus will absolutely be a problem.” – Rep. Bob Good, new head of the ultra-conservative Freedom Caucus (R-VA)

Californians may be saving water if the state Water Resources passes a proposal to streamline “direct potable reuse” (DPR), discharging  purified wastewater into a public water system or just upstream from a treatment plant instead of using it once and then sending it to the ocean. Orange County has used this process for almost 50 years with the world’s biggest water purification system for DPR and reclaims 100 percent of its wastewater. The process would require at least six months before the proposal is accepted by the state’s Office of Administrative Law. Colorado and Texas are considering similar DPR regulations.

Texas has been threatening to secede from the U.S. for over 160 years since 1861, that time the argument over the state keeping slavery. During the 1990s, it became a popular issue for conservatives; secession as a topic has returned with the Texas Nationalist Movement (TNM). The group’s president delivered 139,456 signatures to the state GOP in favor of “Texit,” a March 2024 ballot referendum. State law requires five percent of the most recent primary election vote for governor. With 1,954,172 ballots in 2022, TNM needs only 97,709 verified signatures. TNM declares that a vote to secede is not treason or declaration of war against the U.S. Referenda in Texas need only 50 percent plus one to pass, and 13 of 14 referenda on the 2023 ballot were approved. 

TNM is promising no taxes, no speed zones, no toll roads, no liberals, no gun laws, no windmills, no poor people, and “complete control of our own immigration policy.” According to Calver Kamau-Imani, a preacher and member of the TNM advisory board, “We are going to be so rich!” One-third of the Texas budget comes from federal funds, and secession means that the almost 30 million Texans would each pay $9,000 to replace federal programs such as Social Security and Medicare. 

According to early polling and fundraising, President Joe Biden is getting a boost from the GOP anti-Biden impeachment crusade, just as the GOP helped Democrats by talking about impeaching Barack Obama before the 2014 midterms. At that time, the benefit to the Dems was so great that then-House Speaker John Boehner told reporters the impeachment idea was “a scam started by Democrats”—which it wasn’t. The reason was straightforward: the more voters to left of center who believed Republicans might try to impeach President Obama, the more motivated the Democratic voters were willing to donate and vote.

In Vatican City, at 0.17 square miles the smallest country in the world, Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, possibly the next pope, has been found guilty of three counts of embezzlement and sentenced to five years and six months. Becciu was acquitted of money laundering, abuse of office, and influencing a witness; his lawyers plan to appeal the decision. Eight of Becciu’s co-defendants—Vatican officials, Italian business executives, consultants and brokers—were found guilty of financial crimes or abuse of office. A ninth was acquitted of all charges. The court has ordered the guilty to pay over $200 million in restitution. 

Fined 8,000 euros ($8,700), Becciu is barred from holding any Vatican office. The investigation was created by a bad investment in a luxury London property when Becciu transferred 200 million euros in 2013 and 2014, discovered to be embezzlement. The property has since been sold for a $175 million loss. Becciu also illegally funneled 125,000 euros (about $136,400) in a Sardinian charity run by his brother and transfered 570,000 euros (about $622,000) to Cecilia Marogna, a Sardinian woman with a humanitarian organization in Slovenia who, Becciu said, was supposed to help free a kidnapped nun. He has claimed innocence to all the charges.

The jail has three cells, one of them occupied in 2021 by Monsignor Carlo Capella, incarcerated for five years for possessing and sharing child pornography. Each cell has a toilet, an immovable iron bed, and a table anchored to the wall. Although the windows have bars, the glass can be opened. Convicts can be transferred to Italy.

Courts Keep Churning

Judge Aileen Cannon isn’t giving Deposed Donald Trump (DDT) the SCIF he wants at Mar-a-Lago; he wants to can stay home to look through classified documents. DDT asked for a sensitive compartment information facility (SCIF) at his Palm Beach estate. Her 16-page protective order conforms with general practices of federal courts by noting that DDT’s lawyers don’t have full security clearances yet. Cannon also ordered the appointment of a classified information security officer, responsible for ensuring lawyers have access to national security information and handle it carefully. She didn’t specify where the SCIF would be, but they are typically in or near federal courthouses. Prosecutors can ask that some audiences be kept off-limits to the documents. Access to classified information is more restricted to DDT’s co-defendants in the case, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira. Specific court orders will be required for sharing classified information with Nauta.

Fulton County (GA) Judge Scott McAfee determined that DA Fani Willis’ 19 RICO codefendants do not have to participate in the same trial: Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell will be tried on October 23, and the others can wait. McAfee didn’t give a trial date for DDT and his other 16 co-defendants. Chesebro’s attorneys also want to question grand jury members who approved the indictments, questioning the legitimacy of their actions. An assistant Fulton County district attorney disagreed, maintaining that attorneys cannot question grand jurors about their deliberations. McAfee has not ruled on the request, indicating that the jurors would have to be willing and pointing out the threats and doxing for many of them after the indictments.

In a harbinger of things to come, reporters stated that “tensions ran high” during this week’s hearing, complete with “snide comments,” raised voices, and “accusations” from both sides. One defense attorney said he should be permitted to continue his argument because the hearing was being “broadcast live.” Powell’s attorney wants prosecutors’ arguments in writing so that he can preview them before coming to court.

Chesebro’s attorney accused the assistant DA of having “lied to the court” about existing case law regarding his right to talk with grand jurors. McAfee asked him to stop his heated response, but the defense attorney’s justification was that the proceedings are being “broadcast live.” Legal expert Lisa Rubin said the attorneys were inappropriate in requesting to question grand jurors. She said that the defense attorneys had neither the facts nor the law on their side so they threaten “the DA’s team with prosecutorial conduct.”

McAfee also shut down the defense attorney’s arguments after he accused the assistant DA of firing “personal attacks” and “[impugning] the reputation” of his colleague. The attorney also complained that the state’s presentation of a PowerPoint was “not an efficient use of the court’s time.” McAfee said that his complaint “is not part of the record right now” because “this is not part of the consideration, and if you want to handle that outside of [court] we will do that.”

Chesebro also wants transcripts to be unsealed from the first special grand jury that recommended charges but did not vote on the indictments. McAfee said he will hold weekly hearings to deal with Chesebro’s and Powell’s motions so that they don’t build up.

The 11^th Circuit Court will consider an appeal from former chief of staff Mark Meadows after Judge Steve Jones turned down his request to move his RICO charges from Fulton County (GA) to a federal court. Oral arguments are scheduled Friday if the court determines they are “warranted.” Meadows withdrew his request for an emergency stay because the court promised to expedite its ruling. Meadows is indicted for participating in eight “overt acts in furtherance of the conspiracy”; his attorney stated “nothing Mr. Meadows is alleged in the indictment to have done is criminal.”

For the second time, anti-immigrant federal Judge Andrew Hanen in Texas ruled the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) immigration program unlawful but didn’t terminate deportation protections and work permits for 580,000 immigrant “Dreamers.” Last year, the 5^th Circuit Court also declared DACA illegal, and the case may go to the Supreme Court. By the end of March, 578,680 immigrants, who illegally came to the U.S. as children, live in the U.S.—over half of them in California, Texas, Illinois, and New York—because they meet the requirements of the executive order. DDT tried to terminate the 2011 law in 2017, but the policy has been moving through the courts. A appeal will go to the highly conservative 5^th Circuit Court.

In a case about removing DDT’s name from the state election from 14^th Amendment language, a federal judge in Colorado dismissed DDT ’s attempt to move the case to a federal court and declare voters bringing the case lacked standing. Judge Philip Bremmer, appointed by George W. Bush, called the case “defective” because Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, also named in the lawsuit, didn’t want to move the case from state court. A similar lawsuit was filed in Minnesota’s state court this week by registered voters.

New Hampshire’s GOP Secretary of State David Scanlon has stated that he has no legal basis to disqualify DDT or any other candidate as it relates to the 14^th Amendment. His announcement came the day after DDT’s campaign sent him a letter signed by dozens of GOP state lawmakers urging him to refuse the quest to disqualify DDT.

In a case about the House Freedom Caucus leader, Scott Perry (PA), the D.C. Circuit Court ruled that his communications with lawmakers to overturn the 2020 election are off-limits to special counsel Jack Smith. The three-judge panel, two of them appointed by DDT and third by George H.W. Bush, ordered a judge to individually review almost 2,000 documents with a stricter standard. Perry tried to help DDT replace the DOJ AG after the 2020 election with Jeffrey Clark who would get the agency to reverse its finding that President Joe Biden had been fairly elected.

On the seventh day, the Texas House rested its impeachment case against suspended state AG Ken Paxton after failing to call a star witness and fighting with defense attorneys about allegations that real estate developer bribed Paxton.  House lawyer Rusty Hardin also realized that he made his announcement for resting the case too soon, cutting off further questioning of the current witness by either side. The defense attorney motioned for a directed verdict, requesting a dismissal of the articles of impeachment from lack of evidence, causing more problems. Jurors met behind closed doors for 45 minutes; when they returned, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, acting as judge, told them the defense had withdrawn its motion.

Laura Olson, Paxton’s mistress, also backed down from testifying after agreeing she would be a witness because she hadn’t received a 24-hour notice. When they returned, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, acting as judge, told them the defense had withdrawn its motion. By late afternoon, Olson was eligible to testify, but both sides agreed she could leave without taking the stand. She had been planning to assert her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Instead, prosecutors called Drew Wicker, Paxton’s personal assistant. Both sides will give closing arguments on Friday before the jury determines a verdict. 

Throughout the trial, defense lawyers attacked the witnesses for their disloyalty toward their employer and lack of documentation for the FBI when they reported Paxton. All the witnesses described how they told Paxton that he was creating problems for himself through excessive favors for Nate Paul, the real estate developer.

Paxton must still stand trial for state securities fraud charges dating to 2015. Although he has pled guilty to that case, his lawyers said a successful impeachment might encourage him to a plea agreement. The FBI, investigating Paxton since 2020, may be “monitoring” the trial for the testimony of eight whistleblowers about Paxton’s alleged crimes. It could lead to a federal indictment.

Paxton’s wife, a senator, sat through the proceedings including the recent testimony of Paxton’s infidelity, part of the catalyst for his other crimes. She won’t be able to vote, but she must be present to increase the number of votes to impeach him. In essence, her presence creates a “no” vote.

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders is facing a lawsuit for withholding information about her travel at the same time she’s trying to change the state’s public records law. To remove transparency, the law would make information about travel for the governor and other “constitutional officers” exempt from the law—and be retroactive to before Sanders took office.  

The law would also block release of records “reflecting communications” between the governor’s office and her Cabinet secretaries, after a previous version more broadly blocked the release of state agencies’ “deliberative process.” Even Republicans in the state question GOP lawmakers’ support for the law, and the former state police director, who served under Mike Huckabee—Sanders’ father—condemned a retroactive change, stating it shows admission of wrongdoing.

Google is facing a DOJ trial about its policies and deals with other industry companies, accusing Google of an illegal monopoly in the search market that harms innovation. Questions:

• Are Google’s deals with Apple and other providers exclusive?
• Does Google limit online ad competition through search?
• Is Google’s dominance limiting search innovation?
• Who counts as Google’s competitors in search?
• Who is expected to testify?

And the biggest case for the day—the felony indictment of Hunter Biden, the president’s son, for lying when he bought a gun in 2018 which he kept for 11 days. But that’s a much longer story.

Republicans Try to Avoid Paying for Their Offenses

Update/Correction: On the night of the Utah special primary to replace resigning GOP Rep. Chris Stewart, the media announced Becky Edwards the winner of the GOP election. Since that time, Celeste Maloy, a supporter of Deposed Donald Trump (DDT), received enough votes to beat Edwards for the general election against Democratic state Sen. Kathleen Riebe. Maloy was Stewart’s chief legal counsel.

Federal Judge Steve Jones refused former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows’ request to move his Georgia RICO charges from state to federal court and ruled that many of the allegations were political activities outside Meadows’ job, his main argument. Meadows participated in the call with DDT asking Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” more votes for DDT, the exact number he needed to win the 2020 state presidential election. The decision may not bode well for DDT who informed the Fulton County judge that he “may” ask for his RICO election interference indictment to be moved to a federal court as well as for other co-defendants who filed the same request.

A judiciary disciplinary panel in Wisconsin has dismissed several political complaints against Janet Protasiewzicz, the newest state Supreme Court judge. Republicans, upset because this high court is liberal instead of conservative for the first time in 15 years, have argued that her comments about the GOP-drawn gerrymandered district maps should force her to recuse herself from any rulings about it. GOP lawmakers wanted to use negative findings about her from the panel for an impeachment. Conservative members of the court, which has not decided whether to hear any redistricting case, have made highly partisan statements about issues that could come before the court with no threats of impeachment. A federal court in Wisconsin had earlier found a distinction between a candidate’s personal views during a campaign and a pledge, promise, or commitment to specific rulings. The Wisconsin has a large majority in both houses, despite the state’s demographics, because of electoral maps drawn by the GOP-controlled legislature in 2011.

Adviser for former Dictator Donald Trump (DDT) Peter Navarro had a short trial: on the third day, he was convicted of criminal contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a congressional subpoena from the House January 6 investigative committee and refusing to testify to House members. Navarro could have taken the subpoena and declined to answer any questions, but instead, he decided to make a big splash in court. He has said that he won’t go to prison because he’s in the right. Sentencing, set for January 12, can give him 30 days to a year in prison with a maximum fine of $100,000.

Navarro’s attorneys moved for a mistrial after the verdict was read, stating that jurors could have been exposed to protesters when they went outside for a break during deliberations. The jury, however, explained, it reached a verdict ten minutes after the break. The judge told Navarro’s attorney, Stanley Woodward, to file a motion, and he would consider it. Woodward’s argument against a guilty plea was prosecutors’ failure to prove that “Navarro’s failure to comply with the subpoena was not the result of accident, mistake or inadvertence.” The attorney added, “This case is about those three words.”

Prosecutor Elizabeth Aloi said about Navarro:

 “The defendant chose allegiance to former President Donald Trump over compliance to the subpoena.”

Navarro has continually pretended to be above the law. Last April the D.C. Circuit Court rejected his request to keep hundreds of government records after a judge ordered him to promptly return them to the National Archives. He contended that at least 200 to 250 records belonged to the government, but said the DOJ had no way to make him return the records. Navarro had done his official government business on a personal ProtonMail account.

Another adviser, Steve Bannon, was also found guilty on two counts of contempt of Congress when he refused to comply with a subpoena from the committee. Sentenced to four months in prison and $6,500 fine, Bannon is still free while appealing the conviction. The committee found former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows in contempt in 2021 for refusing to answer questions about the insurrection, but the DOJ did not prosecute him.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), chair of the House Judiciary Committee, started his investigation of Fulton County (GA) DA Fani Willis’ investigation of election interference that led thus far to indictments of 19 alleged participants by demanding all Willis’ documents. The deadline was September 7. Willis responded, telling Jordan that his August 24 letter included “inaccurate information and misleading statements.” She also accused him of inappropriately interfering with a state criminal case and attempting to punish her for his own personal political gain:

“Its obvious purpose is to obstruct a Georgia criminal proceeding and to advance outrageous misrepresentations. As I make clear below, there is no justification in the Constitution for Congress to interfere with a state criminal matter, as you attempt to do…. Your letter makes clear that you lack a basic understanding of the law, its practice and the ethical obligations of attorneys generally and prosecutors specifically.”

A large portion of Jordan’s seven-page letter attacked Willis’ motives, but Willis’ response pointed out Jordan had refused to comply from a House subpoena regarding the January 6 insurrection in violation of the law when answering his concern that Willis “would set a dangerous precedent for future Congresses…. The America people deserve better.” She also cites a number of cases, including from the Supreme Court, that declare a “fundamental policy against federal interference with state criminal prosecutions.” A special zing told Jordan to “deal with some basic realities”:

“A Special Purpose Grand Jury made up of everyday citizens investigated for 10 months and made recommendations to me.

“A further reality is that a grand jury of completely different Fulton County citizens found probable cause against the defendants named in the indictment for RICO violations and various other felonies. Face this reality, Chairman Jordan: the select group of defendants who you fret over in my jurisdiction are like every other defendant, entitled to no worse or better treatment than any other American citizen ….

“Here is another reality you must face: Those who wish to avoid felony charges in Fulton County, Georgia—including violations of Georgia RICO law—should not commit felonies in Fulton County, Georgia.”

To provide him with “a more thorough understanding of Georgia’s RICO statute,” she recommended the book Rico State-by-State.  More of Willis’ response to Jordan is here.

As usual, Jordan has no evidence for his conspiracy theory that powerful federal officials are the architects of government prosecutions. Yet he followed his demand to Willis with another one to special counsel Jack Smith for all information related to Stanley Woodward, in DDT’s pay while representing several Mar-a-Lago employees as well as Peter Navarro. Woodward is fighting the DOJ which seeks a Garcia hearing, ensuring that a criminal defendant knows about his lawyer’s conflicts of interest. In late August, Jordan also demanded information about meetings between Jay Bratt, a lawyer working with Smith about retention of classified documents, in the White House. Woodward said he was being inappropriately pressured to cooperate with Smith.  

Jordan sent the letter to the DOJ on the day after Yuscil Taveras, a Mar-a-Lago IT worker, dropped Woodward, who also represents DDT’s co-defendant Walt Nauta in the classified records case, as his lawyer and cooperated with the DOJ. Taveras’ testimony led to a succeeding indictment of DDT, Nauta, and another co-defendant, also represented by Woodward, about the three defendants trying to delete the security footage showing them moving boxes with classified documents. In a tacit accusation, Woodward complained that Taveras received the cooperation after he talked to outside counsel.

The report from the Georgia grand jury has been released with the names of 39 people recommended for indictment, one of them Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). Two others were losing candidates for U.S. senators in a special 2021 election, David Perdue and Kally Leffler, but they were not among the 19 defendants chosen by Willis. DDT wrote that the report has “ZERO credibility.” The complete report is here.

Although he has not read the report, Graham called his actions “consistent” with his job as U.S. senator and denied Raffensperger’s claim that Graham has asked for ballots to be thrown out, just focusing on matching signatures on mail-in ballots. Raffensperger has repeatedly maintained that Graham’s “implication” was, “Look hard and see how many ballots you could throw out.” Graham’s most recent comment repeats he was fulfilling his constitutional duties, but the Constitution doesn’t require a South Carolina to talk to a Georgia official about election ballot counts.

Graham may see his lack of indictment as a victory, but 13 jury members—a majority—voted to bring charges against him “with respect to the national effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election.” Although Republicans advocate states’ rights, Graham claims a federal senator can interfere in a state election. Graham, however, was clever, however: his language didn’t get him indicted–yet.

More DDT Disasters, Possible Ineligibility

Deposed Donald Trump (DDT) has announced that he will be interviewed by Tucker Carlson on August 23 instead of appearing with other GOP presidential candidates in the first debate for 2024, this one shown on the Fox network. His attack on Fox may be part of retaliation against the network that supported him in the past.

On Truth Social, DDT wrote that Fox & Friends “purposely show the absolutely worst pictures” of him. He added, “Especially the big ‘orange’ one with my chin pulled way back. They think they are getting away with something, they’re not.” He didn’t specify what they were getting away with. More examples of photos DDT will hate.

For the 2024 election, Fox’s owner Rupert Murdoch leans toward Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who hasn’t yet entered the race. Murdoch pivoted from his former favorite, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, expressing “doubts and frustrations.” As Youngkin bides his time, he faces logistical issues problems such as missing state filing deadlines if he keeps to his plan of not declaring until after Virginia’s November 7 General Assembly races. Virginia law prevents him from running for another term when his current one expires in 2026.

Social media influencers try to build up DDT and tear down President Joe Biden by claiming a photo of DDT with his wife, Melania Trump, talking with people in a building filled with supplies and clothes. The text reads, “THE PEOPLE’S PRESIDENT. Thank you Mr. Trump for checking on the people of Maui!” The picture was taken during the couple’s visit to Alabama in 2019 following a tornado. DDT has not visited the Maui disaster. Biden and his wife, Jill, waited to visit Maui until their visit would be less disruptive; it is scheduled for Monday.

A judge refused DDT’s request to delay the trial of E. Jean Carroll scheduled for January 15, 2024, and called the appeal to the 2^nd Circuit Court for dismissal “frivolous.” Carroll added another $10 million to her civil defamation lawsuit to the $5 million she was already awarded after DDT continued to defame her. The judge said that he is not required to stay the case while the appeal is being considered.

A recent Ohio racketeering and conspiracy case provides insight into Fulton County (GA) DA Fani Willis’ strategy in her RICO indictment against DDT and 18 other defendants. A RICO case against ex-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and his allies in the chamber’s largest corruption scandal concerned a $60 million pay-to-play scheme involving a Fortune 500 company. Householder got the maximum 20 years in prison; his co-defendant, former leader of the state GOP, five years.

No matter how many close associates DDT dumps, he always finds more to replace them, people sucked into believing that they are different from the ones he abandons. His two recent dumpees are Jenna Ellis and Rudy Giuliani, faithful lawyers who pushed every crackpot theory from DDT. They now want help paying millions in legal bills from DDT who brags about being worth “TEN BILLION DOLLARS.”

Ellis got in trouble by supporting Ron DeSantis for president, an unforgiveable sin in DDT’s eyes. Thus far, her crowd-funding site has brought in about 35,000. New DDT sycophant, Laura Loomer, calls Ellis “vile” as well as other pejoratives.

Rudy Giuliani went to Mar-a-Lago—twice—to beg for legal fees that DDT owes him—over a million dollars. DDT, however, always avoids payment to his employees—lawyers, contractors, plumbers, undocumented migrants, etc. He made vague comments about paying some of Giuliani’s bills but wasn’t specific about how much or when. Although DDT paid $340,000, that’s a drop in the bucket. In the Smartmatic’s defamation case against Giuliani, his attorneys said he didn’t money to produce records for the case.

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who wants DDT to appoint him attorney general, announced he is calling on the House to investigate Judge Tanya Chutkan, presiding over special counsel Jack Smith’s case regarding DDT’s allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 election. Gaetz plans to file a resolution to “censure and condemn” her for “showing open bias and partisanship in her official duties on the bench.” He also accused her of “blatant political bias from the bench” for his accusation of “extreme sentencing of January 6th defendants, while openly supporting the violent Black Lives Matter riots of 2020.” Another reason to condemn her, according to Gaetz, is that she “donated thousands of dollars to elect Barack Obama.” Chutkan donated $1,500 from 2008 to 2009 to the Obama campaign. Last weekend, Gaetz declared at the Iowa State Fair that “we know that only through force can we make any change in a corrupt town like Washington, D.C.”

Former chief of staff Mark Meadows’ plea to have his cased moved from state to federal court in Georgia will be heard on August 28. Reasons for his wish proposed by media and political commentors: (1) jury-shopping from a Georgia district, not just Fulton County; (2) a state court prosecutor in an unfamiliar federal courtroom; (3) a more friendly judge although the federal district judge was appointed by President Obama; and (4) the hope that a federal judge would be more likely to dismiss Meadows’ part in the RICO case.

The statute permitting removal is only if he was acting as U.S. officer. Neither Meadows nor DDT, however, have any constitutional duties related to state certification of Georgia’s election, duties left to the states, the electoral college, and Congress, but not to the president. Meadows would also have to prove that he has “colorable” defense such as immunity to overturn the 2020 election.

Presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson is arguing that people should not support DDT because he is likely ineligible to be president after his part in trying to overturn an election. Notable legal scholars, both conservative and liberal, agree that the 14^th Amendment blocks DDT from holding any office. Former federal judge J. Michael Luttig and professor of constitutional law Laurence H. Tribe cite the amendment’s Section 3 barring anyone from holding office who took an oath to support the Constitution in an official capacity but later “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the Constitution. Demanding the Georgia Secretary of State “find” the votes to win DDT the election, filing bogus lawsuits intended to overturn the results, attempting to obstruct Congress from certifying election results, and repeatedly and knowingly lying to the public should block DDT from another term in the White House, according to the legal scholars. The ban can be removed only with two-thirds vote of the House and of the Senate.

Scholars William Baude and Michael Stokes Paulsen make the same argument in “The Sweep and Force of Section Three,” an upcoming article in a University of Pennsylvania Bay Review. Lettig and Tribe explain that the authors are two of the most prominent conservative constitutional scholars in America, and both are affiliated with the Federalist Society.” Both originalists, Baude and Paulsen state that disqualification is automatic, in legalese “self-executing,” requiring no legislation, criminal conviction, nor other judicial action. Section 3 was widely used after the Civil War to prevent former Confederate leaders from serving in the federal government without being tried or convicted of any crime. Lettig and Tribe quote Baude and Paulsen:

“The bottom line is that Donald Trump both ‘engaged in’ ‘insurrection or rebellion’ and gave ‘aid or comfort’ to others engaging in such conduct, within the original meaning of those terms as employed in Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment. If the public record is accurate, the case is not even close. He is no longer eligible to the office of Presidency, or any other state or federal office covered by the Constitution.”

Judges also argue that the Amnesty Act of 1872, reinstating Confederate leaders’ rights in the federal government, overturns Section 3, but the 4^th Circuit Court ruled that former Rep. Madison Cawthorne (R-NC) would have been disqualified for election if he had received the majority vote in the GOP primary. The appeals court determined that the Amnesty Act focused only on Confederates seeking forgiveness, not future offenses. Cawthorne allegedly fueled the violence at the January 6 insurrection, sympathized with those carrying it out, and encouraged conservatives to gather in Washington and protest the Electoral Vote count.

Lettig and Tribe summarize DDT’s ineligibility:

“[Section 3] of our Constitution continues to protect the republic from those bent on its dissolution. Every official who takes an oath to uphold the Constitution, as Article VI provides every public official must, is obligated to enforce this very provision… If donald trump were to be reelected, how could any citizen trust that he would uphold the oath of office he would take upon his inauguration? As recently as last December, the former president posted on Truth Social his persistent view that the last presidential election was a ‘Massive Fraud,’ one that “allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution.

“No person who sought to overthrow our Constitution and thereafter declared that it should be ‘terminated’ and that he be immediately returned to the presidency can in good faith take the oath that Article II, Section 1 demands of any president-elect ‘before he enter on the Execution of his Office.’”

And DDT has until Friday to report to the jail in Atlanta (GA) for arraignment in the RICO case.