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.
Nel's New Day 