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Defend Our Country Digest

Defend Our Country Digest — January 25, 2024

By January 25, 2024No Comments

Driving the Day

Must Read Stories

Federal Appeals Court upholds gag order on Trump, paving way for potential Supreme Court challenge

  • New York Times: Full Appeals Court Spurns Request by Trump to End Gag Order in Election Case: “The full federal appeals court in Washington on Tuesday rejected former President Donald J. Trump’s bid to lift a gag order imposed on him in the criminal case in which he stands accused of trying to subvert the results of the 2020 election.The terse ruling, issued on behalf of the 11 judges on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, leaves Mr. Trump with only the option of appealing to the Supreme Court if he wants to keep fighting the gag order, which restricts his ability to publicly criticize certain people involved in the legal proceeding.”
  • The Hill: Appeals court declines further review of Trump Jan. 6 gag order: “That decision largely affirmed a prior ruling from Judge Tanya Chutkan, who barred Trump from making statements that ‘target’ foreseeable witnesses, court staff and prosecutors. The appeals court refined that directive, barring Trump from any statements ‘made with the intent to materially interfere with, or to cause others to materially interfere with’ the course of the case. The D.C. Circuit’s refusal to rehear the case is likely to bring the issue to the Supreme Court next. Trump could petition the justices to review the gag order and also ask them to put it on hold in the meantime.”

Lawmakers call for DOJ probe into AI-generated Biden deepfake robocall

  • The Hill: Democrat calls for DOJ to investigate fake Biden robocall urging voters not to show up in NH: “Rep. Joseph Morelle (D-N.Y.) sent a letter to the Justice Department (DOJ) on Monday calling for an investigation into a robocall using an imitation of President Biden’s voice, generated by artificial intelligence (AI), urging voters not to show up in New Hampshire’s Tuesday primary. Morelle, in his note to Attorney General Merrick Garland, said he is deeply concerned about the effects AI could have on the upcoming elections.”
  • Wired: The Biden Deepfake Robocall Is Only the Beginning: “In the year since ChatGPT launched, generative AI has quickly become a focus of concern for lawmakers worried about its potential to displace jobs and spread disinformation. Now, the deepfake robocall imitating Biden has further sparked these fears and highlighted the regulatory gaps around AI accountability and transparency. ‘The political deepfake moment is here,’ said Robert Weissman, president of the progressive advocacy group Public Citizen, in a statement Monday. ‘Policymakers must rush to put in place protections, or we’re facing electoral chaos. The New Hampshire deepfake is a reminder of the many ways that deepfakes can sow confusion and perpetuate fraud.’”

In The States

WISCONSIN: Wisconsin Republicans make last-ditch effort to pass new legislative maps to circumvent ongoing lawsuit in the state Supreme Court

  • Associated Press: Wisconsin Republicans race to reach deal on legislative maps to head off court drawing its own: “Wisconsin Republicans were scrambling Wednesday to come up with new legislative district maps that might win the approval of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and head off the state Supreme Court from drawing lines that could be even worse for the GOP. The liberal-controlled state Supreme Court last month tossed the current Republican-drawn maps as unconstitutional. The court said it would draw new maps unless the Legislature and Evers agreed to ones first. The political stakes are huge for both sides in the presidential battleground state, where Republicans have had a firm grip on the Legislature since 2011 even as Democrats have won statewide elections, including for governor in 2018 and 2022.”
  • Wisconsin State Journal: Trying to bypass Wisconsin Supreme Court on redistricting, Republicans alter Tony Evers’ map: “Wisconsin Republicans on Tuesday advanced an altered version of legislative maps submitted by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in an effort to take the map-drawing process out of the hands of the liberal-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court. Senate Republicans unveiled the proposal as a 169-page amendment to a previous bill — which would have implemented a nonpartisan redistricting process in Wisconsin — without any opportunity for review by the public or their Democratic colleagues. The state’s high court last month issued a landmark decision that existing Republican-drawn legislative boundaries are unconstitutional and ordered that new maps be drawn. The amendment proposes legislative boundaries that Republicans said largely align with a proposal Evers submitted to the Supreme Court for consideration, but with fewer districts in which two incumbents would be pitted against one another.”

MISSISSIPPI: Full 5th Circuit Court of Appeals rehears case over Mississippi’s felony disenfranchisement law

  • Associated Press: Can Mississippi strip felons of voting rights? 19 federal judges will hear the case: “Whether permanently stripping voting rights from some Mississippi felons amounts to unconstitutionally cruel and unusual punishment is being weighed by 19 federal appellate judges, some of whom said during a hearing Tuesday that it should be decided by lawmakers, not a court. At issue before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans was Mississippi’s prohibition on voting for those convicted of any of a list of various felonies, including nonviolent ones such as forgery or timber theft. The outcome could affect voting rights for tens of thousands. Criminal justice advocates won a major victory in August when a three-judge panel of the appeals court ruled that the ban violates the Constitution’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. But the full 17-member circuit court vacated that ruling weeks later and scheduled Tuesday’s hearing.”

LOUISIANA: Louisiana governor signs new Congressional maps into law

  • NPR: After a court fight, Louisiana’s new congressional map boosts Black political power: “Louisiana has a new congressional map, with a second majority-Black district, after Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed it into law on Monday. The new map is a win for Black voters and likely brings an end to the state’s long-running legal battle over redistricting. It could also see Democrats gain another seat in Congress. Redistricting the map was the focus of a week-long special session called by Landry on his first day in office. A federal court had given Louisiana’s legislature until Jan. 30 to redraw its map in compliance with the federal Voting Rights Act, forcing lawmakers to add a second majority-Black district.”

What Experts Are Saying

Amanda Marcotte, on E. Jean Carroll defamation case, for Salon: “Most men indicted for sexual abuse or assault will surround themselves with female supporters while claiming to be too tender-hearted to hurt a woman. The goal of defense attorneys is generally to make their client seem incapable of the vicious crime they’re accused of. Not Donald Trump, however. In what is now the second trial regarding his sexual assault and repeated defamation of journalist E. Jean Carroll, Trump has embraced the novel strategy of acting exactly like a cartoonishly evil villain on an episode of ‘Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.’ Despite repeatedly whining about how much time he has to spend in court, Trump has shown up in court, even though he doesn’t have to, just to intimidate not just Carroll but the jury members.”

Alan Jenkins, a Professor at Harvard Law School, in an interview reflecting on Jan. 6, with Salon: “This is a chilling moment for our democracy, but I am nonetheless hopeful that we can reclaim our democratic values and institutions. The forces that drove the 2021 insurrection — disinformation, white nationalism, antisemitism, the resort to political violence — have only grown stronger in the years since January 6, 2021. But I’ve been heartened by the activism and courage of everyday people around the country. People who believe in democracy and equal justice have been organizing, educating, and demanding accountability.”

Harry Litman, regarding Trump’s denied request for a rehearing of his appeal against the gag order in the federal 2020 election interference case, on X (Twitter): “No surprise. Besides the law being on prosecutors’ side, you can expect judges to be especially protective of trial courts’ efforts to keep him from disrupting court and polluting the jury pool. They know that it’s both challenging and vital.”

Headlines

Extremism

Forbes: Far-Right Extremist Arrested After 4 Years Of Social Media DIY Chemical Weapons Tutorials, FBI Alleges

Trump investigations and cases

The Hill: Trump’s E. Jean Carroll defamation trial paused another day

Politico: Next stop on Trump’s path to be presumptive nominee: The Supreme Court

Salon: Ex-Mueller prosecutor: Trump “desperately” trying to avoid trials out of fear of what will come out

January 6 and the 2020 Elections

NBC News: FBI arrests Jan. 6 rioter whose photo was featured in a Biden campaign ad

Maryland Matters: Involvement in Jan. 6 attack could become litmus test for some GOP nominees

Roanoke Times: ‘At the front of the group’: Virginia father and son plead guilty in Jan. 6 Capitol riots

Opinion

Washington Post: Editorial Board: Conservatives want to unleash the courts. They might regret asking.

New York Times: Barbara McQuade: Swatting and the Dangerous Rise of Political Violence

Wall Street Journal: Editorial Board: Who’s Threatening Democracy in America?

Salon: Conor Lynch: The Supreme Court looks set to make Steve Bannon’s dream come true

In the States

Associated Press: Felons must get gun rights back if they want voting rights restored, Tennessee officials say

Metro News: Bill aims at election changes that might occur without legislative authorization

ABC News: Which states could get new congressional maps in 2024?