Driving the Day:
NEWS: The @January6thCmte said it will interview more former Cabinet secretaries and is prepared to subpoena Ginni Thomas as part of its investigation into the #January6th attack on the Capitol and Donald Trump’s role in planning it. https://t.co/C0PIjowpbX
— Defend Democracy Project (@DemocracyNowUS) July 25, 2022
Must Read Stories
New Threats To Elections Emerge: Far Right Sheriffs, County Officials Who Refuse To Certify Elections, And Voters Who See A Civil War Looming
- Associated Press: Conspiracy-Promoting Sheriffs Claim Vast Election Authority: The sheriff in Kansas’ most populous county says he took it for granted that local elections ran smoothly — until former President Donald Trump lost there in 2020. Now he’s assigned detectives to investigate what he claims is election fraud, even though there has been no evidence of any widespread fraud or manipulation of voting machines in 2020. Calvin Hayden in Johnson County, which covers suburban Kansas City, isn’t the only sheriff in the U.S. to try to carve out a bigger role for their office in investigating elections. Promoters of baseless conspiracy theories that the last presidential election was stolen from Trump are pushing a dubious theory that county sheriffs can access voting machines and intervene in how elections are run — and also have virtually unchecked power in their counties. Voting-rights advocates and election experts said any attempts by law enforcement to interfere in elections would be alarming and an extension of the threat posed by the continued circulation of Trump’s lies about the 2020 election.
- New York Times: A Hidden New Threat to U.S. Elections: It’s been more than nine weeks since the Pennsylvania primary. The election is still not certified. The reason: Three counties — Berks, Fayette and Lancaster — are refusing to process absentee ballots that were received in a timely manner and are otherwise valid, except the voter did not write a date on the declaration printed on the ballot’s return envelope. The Pennsylvania attorney general has argued in court amid a lawsuit against those three counties that the state will not certify results unless they “include every ballot lawfully cast in that election” (emphasis theirs). The standoff in Pennsylvania is the latest attempt by conservative-leaning counties to disrupt, delay or otherwise meddle with the process of statewide election certification, a normally ceremonial administrative procedure that became a target of Donald Trump’s attempts to subvert the 2020 contest. It’s happened in other states, too. Earlier this year, Otero County, a rural conservative area in southern New Mexico, refused to certify its primary election, citing conspiracy theories about voting machines, though no county commissioner produced evidence to legitimize their concerns. Eventually, under threat of legal action from the state’s attorney general and an order from the State Supreme Court, the commissioners relented and certified the county’s roughly 7,300 votes. Pro-democracy groups saw Otero County’s refusal to certify the results as a warning of potentially grave future crises, and expressed worries about how a state might be able to certify a presidential election under similar circumstances.
- Washington Post: On The Campaign Trail, Many Republicans See A Civil War: Pollsters have found that Americans are worried about the country sticking together; a YouGov poll released last month had a majority of both Democrats and Republicans agreeing that America would one day “cease to be a democracy.” Republican wins since 2020, including a sweep in Virginia’s state elections and victory in a special election in June between two Hispanic candidates in South Texas, haven’t lightened the GOP mood. Andy Surabian, a Republican strategist who works with Trump-backed U.S. Senate candidates J.D. Vance in Ohio and Blake Masters in Arizona, said that last year’s vaccine-or-test mandate for large companies was a turning point in views of the Biden administration, even after it was blocked by the Supreme Court’s conservative majority. “It’s the number one thing that caused people to go from ‘maybe this is incompetence’ to ‘there’s something else going on here,’ ” Surabian said. “Like, do these people actually want a Chinese-style social credit system?” Rick Shaftan, a conservative strategist working with Republican challengers this cycle, said that the party’s voters were nervously watching crime rates in the cities, asking whether public safety was being degraded on purpose. He also pointed to government responses to the pandemic as a reason that those voters, and their candidates, were nervous. “People paid a lot of attention to the truckers,” said Shaftan, referring to Canadian protests against vaccine mandates that occupied Ottawa this year and briefly shut down an international bridge. “Canada’s supposed to be a democracy. … People worry: Can that happen here?” The arrests of hundreds of rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, has frequently been cited by Republican candidates as proof of a government war on its people.
After A Strong Conclusion To The First Round Of Hearings, The January 6 Committee Plans A Busy August
- Associated Press: Jan. 6 Panel Deepens Probe To Trump Cabinet, Awaits Thomas: The House Jan. 6 committee said Sunday it will interview more former Cabinet secretaries and is prepared to subpoena conservative activist Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, who’s married to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, as part of its investigation of the Capitol riot and Donald Trump’s role. Lawmakers said they are deepening their inquiry after a series of eight hearings in June and July culminating in a prime-time session Thursday, with plans to interview additional witnesses and reconvene in September to resume laying out their findings to the public. “We anticipate talking to additional members of the president’s Cabinet,” said Rep. Liz Cheney, the committee’s vice chair. “We anticipate talking to additional members of his campaign. Certainly, we’re very focused as well on the Secret Service.” Cheney, R-Wyo., did not identify the Trump administration officials who might come forward, but the committee has previously made clear its interest in speaking with those believed to have considered invoking a constitutional process in the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office after the riot on Jan. 6, 2021, when hundreds of Trump’s supporters violently stormed the Capitol and interrupted the certification of Joe Biden’s election.
- Bloomberg: About 18 Million People Tuned In to Finale of Jan. 6 Hearings: Nearly 18 million people watched the final Congressional hearing into the Jan. 6. attack on the US Capitol, according to Nielsen data. The strong viewership underscores how the House committee investigating the riot managed to keep much of its audience despite drawing out the hearings over eight days spanning six weeks.
Fulton County Prosecutor Fani Willis Could Be Building A Broad Conspiracy Case Against Trumpworld
- New York Times: On the Docket: Atlanta v. Trumpworld: The criminal investigation into efforts by former President Donald J. Trump and his allies to overturn his election loss in Georgia has begun to entangle, in one way or another, an expanding assemblage of characters: A United States senator. A congressman. A local Cadillac dealer. A high school economics teacher. The chairman of the state Republican Party. The Republican candidate for lieutenant governor. Six lawyers aiding Mr. Trump, including a former New York City mayor. The former president himself. And a woman who has identified herself as a publicist for the rapper Kanye West. Fani T. Willis, the Atlanta area district attorney, has been leading the investigation since early last year. But it is only this month, with a flurry of subpoenas and target letters, as well as court documents that illuminate some of the closed proceedings of a special grand jury, that the inquiry’s sprawling contours have emerged. For legal experts, that sprawl is a sign that Ms. Willis is doing what she has indicated all along: building the framework for a broad case that could target multiple defendants with charges of conspiracy to commit election fraud, or racketeering-related charges for engaging in a coordinated scheme to undermine the election. “All of these people are from very disparate places in life,” Anthony Michael Kreis, a constitutional law professor at Georgia State University, said of the known witnesses and targets. “The fact that they’re all being brought together really suggests she’s building this broader case for conspiracy.”
The Evidence Against Trump Is Coming From His Own Staffers And Other Republicans
- Washington Post (Analysis): The Evidence Against Trump Came From Republicans And Trump Staffers: Team Trump would rather simply wave the whole thing away as a partisan attack on the former president. Why bother trying to piece together a robust defense when you can simply cut the Gordian knot and blame everything on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)? On Friday morning, hours after Fox News failed to carry the most recent committee hearing, “Fox & Friends” host Ainsley Earhardt offered a common version of this claim. “Everyone in that room, they’re all against Trump,” Earhardt insisted. “They are anti-Trumpers. Every single person in that room voted to impeach him.” Well, no, as co-host Brian Kilmeade pointed out. (Surprisingly.) The members of the committee did, including two Republicans. But they did so because they think that Trump is responsible for the day’s violence, as the evidence from their committee has reinforced. But the testimony from witnesses both in the room and in recordings played during the hearing was almost entirely from Republicans, former members of Trump’s administration, former Trump staffers — and Trump himself. I went through the entire hearing, second-by-second, and tracked who was speaking and what was being said. […] In total, the hearing ran for about 2½, removing the lengthy break in the middle. Out of 150 minutes, 93 were occupied with testimony from Republicans and former Trump officials.
Steve Bannon Convicted Of Contempt For Defying January 6 Subpoena
- Associated Press: Steve Bannon Convicted Of Contempt For Defying 1/6 Subpoena: Steve Bannon, a longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, was convicted Friday of contempt charges for defying a congressional subpoena from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Committee leaders called the verdict “a victory for the rule of law.” Bannon, 68, was convicted after a four-day trial in federal court on two counts: one for refusing to appear for a deposition and the other for refusing to provide documents in response to the committee’s subpoena. The jury of 8 men and 4 women deliberated just under three hours. He faces up to two years in federal prison when he’s sentenced on Oct. 21. Each count carries a minimum sentence of 30 days in jail. David Schoen, one of Bannon’s lawyers said outside the courthouse the verdict would not stand. “This is round one,” Schoen said. “You will see this case reversed on appeal.” Likewise, Bannon himself said, “We may have lost the battle here today; we’re not going to lose this war.”
- Fox News: Bannon Warns Fate Of Us At Stake After ‘Lawless’ Conviction: After his contempt of Congress conviction Friday, former Trump strategist Steve Bannon warned Democrats are waging an “ideological war” that regular Americans must win, pointing to the House January 6 committee and Biden administration as being tinged with Chinese Communist Party style governance. “They’re taking on the aspects of the authoritarian state and statist-capitalism combined. The elites that run this country, this is exactly how they want to run it,” Bannon told “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” claiming Judge Carl Nichols would not allow him to mount a defense before the jury based on his claim of executive privilege.
In The States
COLORADO: Tina Peters Surrenders To Authorities
- Associated Press: Election-Denying Colorado Clerk Surrenders To Authorities: A rural Colorado official known as the state’s most prominent election denier surrendered to authorities amid allegations she violated the terms of her release as she awaits trial on accusations of breaking into her county’s election system. Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters turned herself at the Pitkin County Jail in Aspen in Thursday night and was booked, said Parker Lathrop, the county’s chief deputy of operations. She was released on bond later that night, Lathrop said. Authorities claim she had violated bail conditions by contacting workers at the Mesa County elections office. A warrant for her arrest had been issued less than a week after Peters’ lawyer convinced a judge not to send her back to jail because of allegations she improperly traveled out of state while awaiting trial. Peters has echoed former President Donald Trump’s false theories about the 2020 election. She and her chief deputy, Belinda Knisley, are charged with allowing a copy of a hard drive to be made during an update of election equipment in May 2021. Peters and Knisley have denied wrongdoing and Peters has called the charges politically motivated.
WISCONSIN: Chair Of The Assembly Elections Committee Calls For Decertification Of 2020 Results
- Washington Post: Wisconsin Assembly Elections Panel Chair Calls For Voiding 2020 Results: The leader of the Wisconsin Assembly’s elections committee called Friday for invalidating President Biden’s 2020 election victory in the state — an idea that constitutional scholars and Republican legislative leaders have called legally impossible. “Fair and honest elections are the cornerstone of our democracy and we know that the 2020 presidential election was neither fair, nor transparent,” state Rep. Janel Brandtjen (R) said in a news release. “Tyranny is at Wisconsin’s door.” Brandtjen said she planned to sign on to a resolution led by state Rep. Tim Ramthun (R) to decertify the election, making her the first fellow lawmaker to join his cause. Ramthun is running a long-shot bid for governor on a decertification platform. Brandtjen’s statement could influence other lawmakers to sign up for the decertification effort, but she and Ramthun face long odds in getting a floor vote.
What Experts Are Saying
Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University: “But to paraphrase a quote often attributed to Mark Twain, the reports of Trump’s political death might be greatly exaggerated. 2024 is not 1974. Trump’s hold on the party seems much stronger than Nixon’s standing after Watergate. And with so many Republicans parroting Trump’s lie that the 2020 election was stolen, the former President could easily rush back onto the scene and win the Republican nomination…Regardless of what happens, we live in a historic moment when a president’s attempt to overturn an election is not an automatic disqualifier. That basic fact might say more than anything about the fragile state of American democracy.” CNN Op-Ed
Sarah Longwell, long-time Republican strategist and pollster: “It is so strange that after all that was put forward in the Jan 6 hearings, there isn’t a deluge of elected Republicans condemning Trump today and making active attempts to separate him from the party. Like, how hard is it to say the guy who tried the coup is a bad guy?” Tweet
Norman Eisen, special counsel to the House Judiciary Committee during the first impeachment and trial of Donald Trump, and Amy Lee Copeland, a criminal defense and appellate attorney in Savannah, GA: “Now that the House Jan. 6 committee’s initial hearings have concluded, this is a useful time to evaluate their actual impact. For that, we should look not to Washington but well south of the Capitol, to Atlanta. That’s because the hearings have turbocharged the investigation by the Fulton County district attorney, Fani Willis, into potential election interference and offenses by Donald Trump and his allies.” NYT Op-Ed: The Jan. 6 Hearings Have Turbocharged the Georgia Investigation of Trump
Joyce Vance, former US Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, re: WaPo piece: On the campaign trail, many Republicans see a civil war: “This is an utterly insane place for our country to be & yet, if you live in a part of the country like mine, it doesn’t seem wrong. Every next election is the most important one of our lives, but for these next two, that’s excruciatingly true.” Tweet
Noah Bookbinder, president of CREW, re: Steve Bannon guilty verdict: “This verdict is not a surprise because it was an open and shut case, but it is an important win for congressional oversight and another step on the march toward real accountability for those who tried to overturn an election and attacked our democracy.” Twitter
Barbara McQuade, former US Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan: “As I described here in @USATODAY, Jan 6 Committee has told a compelling story, but only one side. DOJ must turn over every stone before filing charges. Can’t imagine a federal indictment before 2023 for a case of this scope and complexity.” USA Today Article | Tweet
Headlines
The MAGA Movement And The Ongoing Threat To Elections
Axios: Trump’s revenge
Bloomberg: Trump Tests Waning Appeal in Washington Visit Shadowed by Jan. 6
New York Times: QAnon Candidates Aren’t Thriving, but Some of Their Ideas Are
New York Times: 2020 Election Deniers Seek Out Powerful Allies: County Sheriffs
Politico: ‘His life was threatened.’ But Pence isn’t talking about it.
Reuters: How a former leftie fell into the pro-Trump conspiracy rabbit hole
Votebeat: Rising threats cast shadow over election officials’ conclave
Wall Street Journal: Utah Senate Hopeful Evan McMullin Is Striving to Make a GOP State Competitive Again
January 6 And The 2020 Election
Associated Press: Jan. 6 hearings traced an arc of ‘carnage’ wrought by Trump
CBS: Liz Cheney says Jan. 6 committee could “contemplate a subpoena” for Ginni Thomas
CNBC: Trump aides at heart of explosive Jan. 6 claims have hired private lawyers, committee member says
CNN: Secret Service identified potential missing text messages on phones of 10 individuals
New York Times (Analysis): In Jan. 6 Hearings, Gender Divide Has Been Strong Undercurrent
New York Times (Analysis): Sharp Contrasts With Other Jan. 6 Inquiries Increase Pressure on Garland
New York Times: As Jan. 6 Panel’s Evidence Piled Up, Conservative Media Doubled Down
New York Times: Ethics Board Moves to Penalize Jeffrey Clark, Who Aided Trump in Election Plot
PennLive: Pa. man awaiting sentencing for entering the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot has died
USA Today: Will Trump or his allies face charges over Jan. 6? Legal experts explain hurdles DOJ faces
Washington Post: Capitol rioter who said she wanted to shoot Pelosi is headed to prison
Washington Post: The Claremont Institute triumphed in the Trump years. Then came Jan. 6.
Washington Post: Hearings test Trump’s clout and GOP’s wish to ‘forget about Jan. 6’
Washington Post (Analysis): Hawley’s effort to reap political rewards from Jan. 6 scampers off
Opinion
CNN (Norm Eisen and Dennis Aftergut): Why Steve Bannon’s conviction really matters
CNN (Richard Galant): The missing piece in the January 6 hearings
CNN (Julian Zelizer): Have the January 6 hearings damaged Trump’s political prospects? Don’t count on it
Kansas City Star (Editorial): Fist pumper to fleeing coward: Jan. 6 video shows Missouri who Josh Hawley really is
New York Times (Ross Douthat): Why Trump Is Weakening
New York Times (Norm Eisen and Amy Lee Copeland): The Jan. 6 Hearings Have Turbocharged the Georgia Investigation of Trump
New York Times (Michelle Goldberg): The Myth of the Good Trump Official
Wall Street Journal (Editorial): The President Who Stood Still on Jan. 6
Wall Street Journal (Larry Hogan): In Maryland, Democrats Traduce Democracy
Washington Post (Richard Ben-Veniste): Merrick Garland doesn’t have forever
Political Violence
New York Times: Suspect in Zeldin Attack Is Arrested on Federal Charge
In The States
Kansas City Star: KS election official tries to win GOP voters fearful of fraud
New Yorker: Will Wisconsin’s Republicans Make Voting Meaningless, or Just Difficult?
New York Times: Colorado Man Pleads Guilty to Casting Missing Wife’s Ballot for Trump
Texas Tribune: Right-wing group is quietly conducting review of 300,000 Tarrant County ballots from 2020 primary
