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As legal pressures mount, Trump faces further accusations of negligent handling of classified information and urges protests
- USA Today: Ex-press secretary: Trump showed docs to Mar-a-Lago guests, has ‘no respect for classified information’: Stephanie Grisham, who served as Donald Trump’s White House press secretary and communications director, said she saw the former president show documents to guests at Mar-a-Lago. Grisham said the allegations levied by federal prosecutors that Trump mishandled classified documents after departing the White House are entirely plausible. “I watched him show documents to people at Mar-a-Lago on the dining room patio,” Grisham said. “So he has no respect for classified information, never did.” The former president was indicted by a federal grand jury in early June on charges related to his alleged mishandling of classified documents recovered from his Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago.
- MSNBC: Special counsel reportedly takes an interest in Team Trump lawyers: As special counsel Jack Smith’s office moves forward with its investigation into the post-2020-election crisis, it’s difficult to predict what, if anything, will come of the probe. What’s increasingly clear, however, is that the scope of the investigation isn’t leaving many unturned stones. A Washington Post report summarized last week: “The Justice Department’s investigation of efforts by Donald Trump and his advisers to overturn the 2020 election results is barreling forward on multiple tracks, according to people familiar with the matter, with prosecutors focused on ads and fundraising pitches claiming election fraud as well as plans for ‘fake electors’ that would swing the election to the incumbent president.”
- Hill: Oath Keepers leader warns Trump against trial: ‘You’re going to be found guilty’: Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes warned former President Trump that he will be found guilty if he goes to trial in federal court, calling on his own experience facing a jury last year. Rhodes alleged in a jailhouse interview with the Washington Times that the federal government is working to turn Trump’s close allies against him and try to scare possible witnesses who could defend the former president. The interview took place in the Washington, D.C., Department of Corrections Central Detention Facility, where Rhodes is serving his 18-year sentence for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection.
- NBC: More Mar-a-Lago search warrant information released in Trump classified docs case: Federal agents investigating former President Donald Trump’s connection to classified materials told the judge who signed the search warrant for his Florida estate last year that they were concerned that the whereabouts of some documents were unknown, a new court filing shows. A less redacted version of the search warrant affidavit made public Wednesday indicated that Justice Department officials became concerned after they viewed security camera video from Mar-a-Lago that they’d obtained from Trump’s company.
- Mediaite: Hit the Streets on His Behalf: Do People ‘EVEN HAVE A CHOICE BUT TO PROTEST?’: Former President Donald Trump is escalating his calls for Americans to protest on his behalf. In a post to his Truth Social platform Wednesday morning, the former president went on an all-caps rant denouncing the state of the country. “MASSIVE PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT IS CURRENTLY TAKING PLACE IN AMERICA. THE WEAPONIZATION OF LAW ENFORCEMENT CANNOT BE ALLOWED TO HAPPEN,” Trump wrote. “CRIME & INFLATION ARE RAMPANT, OUR BORDERS ARE OPEN, OUR ELECTIONS ARE RIGGED, OUR ECONOMY IS IN SHAMBLES, OUR ENERGY INDEPENDENCE IS GONE, OUR “LEADER” IS MERCILESSLY MOCKED, & OUR COUNTRY IS BEING DESTROYED BOTH INSIDE & OUT. DO THE PEOPLE OF THIS ONCE GREAT NATION EVEN HAVE A CHOICE BUT TO PROTEST THE POTENTIAL DOOM OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA??? 2024!!!” One can only presume that when Trump writes “OUR ‘LEADER’ IS MERCILESSLY MOCKED,” he is making reference to himself — given that few have mocked President Joe Biden more relentlessly than Trump.
Trump advocates for defunding Special Counsel Smith’s investigations amid ongoing legal proceedings
- Newsweek: Trump Calls for ‘Sick Puppet’ Jack Smith to Be ‘Put Out to Rest’: Former President Donald Trump is calling for Special Counsel Jack Smith to be “defunded” and “put out to rest.” Trump, who faces federal and state felony charges as he seeks the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, has repeatedly attacked Smith since he was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland last year to oversee twin criminal investigations into Trump’s handling of classified documents and activities related to the January 6 U.S. Capitol attack. The ex-president was indicted on 37 felony counts in the documents case last month, with the possibility that the ongoing January 6 investigation could still bring further federal charges. Smith stressed that there was “one set of laws in this country” that “apply to everyone” in a brief statement that followed the indictment.
- MSNBC: GOP push to ‘defund’ Jack Smith’s probes gets Trump’s endorsement: Trump used his social media platform yesterday to publish a long and incoherent tirade, which concluded with this appeal: “Deranged Jack Smith, who is a sick puppet for A.G. Garland & Crooked Joe Biden, should be DEFUNDED & put out to rest. Republicans must get tough or the Dems will steal another Election. MAGA!” There is no reason to believe the calls to defund Smith’s investigation will work, Trump’s endorsement of the idea notwithstanding, but the fact that the former president has endorsed such a move is a timely reminder about just how desperate he’s feeling about his criminal liabilities.
In The States
MISSISSIPPI: State Supreme Court Chief Justice recused from challenge of controversial bill to implement state control over certain areas of the legal system in Jackson and Hinds County
- WAPT: Mississippi chief justice agrees to recuse himself from House Bill 1020 appeal: Mississippi Chief Justice Michael Randolph has recused himself from an appeal in a lawsuit challenging House Bill 1020. The hearing before the Mississippi Supreme Court is set for Thursday. Randolph issued his recusal order Monday. “A just and independent judiciary is a paramount consideration. The institution of the Mississippi Supreme Court must be shielded from unnecessary criticism that would surely result if I delayed the proceedings. I, sua sponte, recuse from consideration of all issues in this appeal,” Randolph wrote in the order. “In so holding, I emphasize that this decision is related to the specific circumstances presented in this unique and most irregular proceeding.”
- Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Here’s the latest on House Bill 1020 with state Supreme Court hearing to come this week: As a number of new state laws took effect in Mississippi with the start of the new fiscal year Saturday, one of the most discussed and argued over pieces of legislation remains blocked. House Bill 1020, the controversial plan to implement state control over certain areas of the legal system in Jackson and Hinds County, remains locked in multiple court battles, with a case before the Mississippi Supreme Court scheduled for this week. Multiple aspects of the bill and an accompanying bill remain blocked by order of a federal judge, including the appointment of judges and the requirement that events in much of downtown Jackson get state approval.
MINNESOTA: Group files lawsuit seeking to reverse Minnesota law that restores voting rights to some felons
- KARE: Minnesota’s felon voter law faces legal challenge: Former felony offenders in Minnesota have spent the past month registering to vote, a right they won when the legislature passed the Restore the Vote Act in the 2023 session. But a lawsuit filed by conservative elections watchdog group seeks to stop the new law in its tracks and leave 50,000-plus potential voters back on the sidelines of the democratic process in the state. Governor Walz signed the Restore the Vote Act into law March 3, and it went into effect June 1, instantly returned voting rights to Minnesotans who otherwise couldn’t take part in elections because they were still on probation or parole for felony offenses. The Minnesota Voters Alliance is challenging the new law, contending that it violates Article 7, Section 1 of the state constitution. That section bars felony offenders from voting “unless restored to civil rights.” That part of the constitution was written before Minnesota had a system of supervised release, or time served in the community. But the plaintiffs in the lawsuit contend that clause means a person can’t vote until they’ve completed their full sentence, which includes probation.
- The Guardian: ‘You’re able to vote now’: Minnesota Democrats pass raft of progressive reforms: On 1 June, in front of a gaggle of press, Kevin Reese signed his voter registration papers – a possibility that felt remote for the more than 14 years he spent locked up inside of Minnesota correctional facilities. In prison, Reese thought constantly about what it would mean to leave. He formed a group that met weekly to talk about what it would take “to get out and not only be OK, but to transcend and be able to live our dreams”. The men talked about the responsibilities that awaited outside: children, parole, taxes. In 2013, Reese said, they began to focus on one concern in particular: voting, and restoring the right to vote to other formerly incarcerated Minnesotans. Reese, now the executive director of the Minnesota-based organizing group Until We Are All Free, is one of more than 55,000 people who gained the right to vote after Minnesota’s governor, Tim Walz, signed a bill restoring voting rights to people with felony convictions. The Restore the Vote law, which passed in March, guaranteed that anyone not in prison can vote.
NEVADA: Nevada Republican National Committeewoman challenges recently enacted Election Worker Protection Act
- Nevada Independent: NV RNC member files lawsuit challenging election worker protection bill: A top-ranking Nevada Republican has filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of four election observers challenging the recently passed state law making it a felony to harass election workers. The lawsuit, filed Thursday in federal district court by attorney and Nevada Republican National Committeewoman Sigal Chattah, alleges that SB406 would criminalize actions Chattah says are legal under Nevada laws about election observation. Nevada lawmakers this year voted unanimously in both chambers to approve SB406, which was signed into law by Gov. Joe Lombardo, a Republican, on May 24. Under the law, those who harass, intimidate or use force on election workers performing their duties in Nevada could face a felony, fine and up to four years in prison. The lawsuit — which names Lombardo and Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar as defendants and asks the court to prohibit the state from enforcing the law — argues that the SB406 is not specific enough about who is classified as an election worker and what constitutes “intimidating” behavior toward them. It claims the legislation is “an absolute contradiction” with the intent of existing laws allowing public observation of election operations.
What Experts Are Saying
Michael Podhorzer, former political director of the AFL-CIO and founder of the Analyst Institute, the Research Collaborative and the Defend Democracy Project: “Last year, [Republicans] were clobbered. It was a midterm where the out-of-power party, a party running against such an unpopular president, lost ground for the first time. How could this happen? The short answer is that the MAGA movement is so unpopular that it mobilized a coalition against Trump and the GOP. An emerging anti-MAGA majority, consisting of voters not on the table in 2016, turned out in record numbers to defeat MAGA. Indeed, the data suggests that Trump’s surprise victory in 2016 might be most noteworthy long term for the strong coalition that formed in opposition to MAGA candidates.” Washington Monthly: The Emergence of the Anti-MAGA Coalition
Joyce Vance, former US attorney, re: Mar-A-Lago case: “The government moved quickly to turn over non-classified discovery and to tee up the rest of discovery so the defendants can begin to prepare their defense and their pretrial motions. There’s no legitimate reason for an extended delay before trial and certainly no reason to delay it until after the 2024 election, more than a year off. A ruling to that effect from Judge Cannon would likely provoke renewed concern about her ability to handle the case in a fair and unbiased way.” Civil Discourse
Noah Bookbinder, president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington: “Amazing that we’re still learning new ways that Donald Trump abused his power to try to reverse an election loss and keep himself in power, in this case by pressuring the governor of Arizona to overturn that state’s results.” Tweet
Heather Cox Richardson, historian at Boston College: “At stake is the belief among right-wing figures that government officials and social media companies have teamed up to silence them, although in fact, studies show that social media algorithms actually amplify right-wing political content and that social media companies are reluctant to remove it out of fear of backlash from extremists. Right-wing complaints stem from the removal of disinformation during the pandemic, and of accounts linked to the violence of January 6, 2021.” Letters from an American
Margaret Sullivan, media columnist and former public editor of the New York Times: “In media, the continuing loss of local newspapers – in itself, a serious threat to democracy – has been offset somewhat as innovation-minded journalists and entrepreneurs have stepped into that void. Witness the growth of digital-first news organizations such as VoteBeat and States Newsroom, and collaborative efforts like Spotlight PA or the partnership between the Texas Tribune and ProPublica.” The Guardian
Headlines
The MAGA Movement And The Ongoing Threat To Elections
Politico: Inside the House GOP’s plan to go after FBI and DOJ
Washington Monthly: The Emergence of the Anti-MAGA Coalition
Trump Investigations
Wall Street Journal: Mar-a-Lago Surveillance Footage Shows Trump Aide Moving Boxes Days Before DOJ Visit
Rolling Stone: Trump Election Lawyer Facing Disbarment Decides to Go Ahead and Just Retire
Arizona Republic: Arizona Secretary of State’s Office subpoenaed by Special Counsel Jack Smith in Jan. 6 inquiry
New York Times: Prosecutors Face Conspiracy Theories in Jan. 6 Trial
Politico: A New Poll on the Trump Indictments Has a Surprising Result
January 6 And The 2020 Election
Politico: Jan. 6 defendant who cased Obama’s neighborhood made week-long series of threats
WVLT 8: Knoxville man charged in Jan. 6 Capitol riots
Opinion
USA Today: DeSantis’ war on ‘woke’ wants to keep us asleep. We must wake up and learn from our history
Washington Post: A Georgia teacher’s plight exposes the essence of anti-woke MAGA fury
In the States
Michigan Radio: Member’s new job raises flags for redistricting commission
Derby Informer: Voting rights case sent to Kansas Supreme Court
Desert Sun: California Supreme Court Decision Could Undermine State’s Bedrock Voting Rights Law
