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Defend Our Country Digest

Defend Our Country Digest — October 26, 2023

By October 26, 2023No Comments

Driving the Day

Must Read Stories

More key Trump associates plead guilty in Georgia election case

  • ABC: Ex-Chief of Staff Mark Meadows granted immunity, tells special counsel he warned Trump about 2020 claims: “Former President Donald Trump’s final chief of staff in the White House, Mark Meadows, has spoken with special counsel Jack Smith’s team at least three times this year, including once before a federal grand jury, which came only after Smith granted Meadows immunity to testify under oath, according to sources familiar with the matter. The sources said Meadows informed Smith’s team that he repeatedly told Trump in the weeks after the 2020 presidential election that the allegations of significant voting fraud coming to them were baseless, a striking break from Trump’s prolific rhetoric regarding the election. According to the sources, Meadows also told the federal investigators Trump was being ‘dishonest’ with the public when he first claimed to have won the election only hours after polls closed on Nov. 3, 2020, before final results were in.”
  • Washington Post: Jenna Ellis’s tearful guilty plea should worry Rudy Giuliani: “For the third time in less than a week, a lawyer who worked for Donald Trump has pleaded guilty in the Fulton County, Ga., election interference case. Jenna Ellis on Tuesday joined Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro in cutting a deal that will require her to testify truthfully about the other defendants, including presumably Trump himself. Her centrality to the case, relative to the others, is debatable. Ellis often served more as a spokesperson than an actual practicing lawyer, though certain actions clearly involved legal strategizing and proximity to Trump. But her plea came with something the others did not: a tearful statement to the court that suggested she is prepared to cast blame up the chain. Whether and how much that includes Trump is a big question. But it would seem to be bad news for Rudy Giuliani and potentially, by extension, for Trump himself.”
  • New York Times: Latest Figure to Flip in Election Case Had Direct Ties to Trump and Giuliani: “A few days before the 2020 election was slated to be certified by Congress, the lawyer Jenna Ellis sent President Donald J. Trump a memo suggesting a way he could stay in power by upending the normal course of American democracy. In the memo, Ms. Ellis, who had little experience in constitutional law, offered Mr. Trump advice he was also getting from far more seasoned lawyers outside government: to press his vice president, Mike Pence, who would be overseeing the certification ceremony at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, not to open any Electoral College votes from six key swing states that Mr. Trump had lost. While Mr. Pence ultimately rejected Mr. Trump’s entreaties, state prosecutors in Georgia later accused Ms. Ellis of helping to develop a strategy for ‘disrupting and delaying’ the election certification and with working closely with pro-Trump lawyers like Rudolph W. Giuliani as part of a sprawling racketeering case.”
  • Bloomberg: Pleas in Trump’s Georgia Racketeering Case Show ‘Dam Breaking’: “A trio of guilty pleas over the past week from lawyers charged in the 2020 election racketeering case in Georgia show prosecutors circling closer to Donald Trump and his inner sanctum of post-election advisers ahead of a trial. The guilty pleas by Kenneth Chesebro, Jenna Ellis, and Sidney Powell mean all three could take the stand against the former president and give prosecutors more leverage in the meantime to convince some of the remaining 15 defendants in the case to also plead guilty.”
  • Washington Post: The layers of falsehoods that led to Jenna Ellis’s plea deal: “The fundamental failure of Donald Trump’s effort to subvert the results of the 2020 presidential election was that it was predicated on complete nonsense. Trump and his attorneys — particularly Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis — seized upon any allegation of fraud or any analysis that presented an opportunity for skepticism about the results and offered them up as valid. Even, in many cases, after it had been made obvious that the claims were not valid. This approach had an obviously useful effect, accomplishing precisely what Trump needed politically. His supporters were subjected to this blizzard of claims, a blizzard that itself was cited as evidence that the election was somehow tainted. That the claims were debunked or irrelevant didn’t matter. His supporters treated subsequent claims as more credible in part because they landed in an environment where people were inclined (thanks to that blizzard) to believe that fraud had occurred.”
  • New York Times: With Plea Deals in Georgia Trump Case, Fani Willis Is Building Momentum: “Fani T. Willis, the district attorney of Fulton County, Ga., had no shortage of doubters when she brought an ambitious racketeering case in August against former president Donald J. Trump and 18 of his allies. It was too broad, they said, and too complicated, with so many defendants and multiple, crisscrossing plot lines for jurors to follow. But the power of Georgia’s racketeering statute in Ms. Willis’s hands has become apparent over the last six days. Her office is riding a wave of momentum that started with a guilty plea last Thursday from Sidney K. Powell, the pro-Trump lawyer who had promised in November 2020 to ‘release the kraken’ by exposing election fraud, but never did.”

Trump files new challenges in federal election obstruction case

  • Washington Post: Trump files new challenges to federal election obstruction case in D.C.: “Former president Donald Trump launched a multipronged legal attack late Monday on his federal prosecution for allegedly subverting the results of the 2020 election, saying his actions were protected by the First Amendment as political speech, and arguing that he cannot be tried in criminal court for attempting to block Joe Biden’s victory because he was already impeached by the House but acquitted by the Senate. In court filings that landed minutes before a midnight deadline, lawyers for Trump claimed he was a victim of political persecution by the Biden administration. They called the charges against Trump legally defective and vague, and said the indictment should not link him to the violence of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol because he is not charged with inciting that riot.”
  • The Hill: Trump distances himself from Jan. 6 in asking court to toss ‘vindictive’ case: “Former President Trump’s legal team is asking a judge to toss his prosecution in his federal election interference case, arguing that it’s a vindictive prosecution that violates his free speech while seeking to distance Trump from the attack on the Capitol. In a series of late Monday motions filed minutes before a midnight deadline, Trump’s attorneys echo many of his oft-repeated lines from the campaign trial, arguing he was simply raising questions about the 2020 election and shouldn’t be held responsible for the storming of the building.”
  • New York Times: Trump Files More Motions to Derail Federal Jan. 6 Case: “Lawyers for former President Donald J. Trump fired off a barrage of new attacks on Monday night against the federal charges accusing him of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election, filing nearly 100 pages of court papers seeking to have the case thrown out before it reaches a jury. In four separate motions to dismiss — or limit the scope of — the case, Mr. Trump’s legal team made an array of arguments on legal and constitutional grounds, some of which strained the boundaries of credulity. The lawyers claimed, largely citing news articles, that President Biden had pressured the Justice Department to pursue a “nakedly political” selective prosecution of Mr. Trump. They asserted that prosecutors in the office of the special counsel, Jack Smith, had failed to prove any of the three conspiracy counts brought against the former president.”

In The States

NORTH CAROLINA: State Senate picks congressional map that likely adds three GOP seats

  • Associated Press: North Carolina Senate advances congressional map plan that could give Republicans a 3-seat gain: “Republicans in the North Carolina Senate advanced a map proposal Monday for the state’s congressional districts starting in 2024 that could position the party to pick up at least three seats in the U.S. House next year. The potential gains would be a boon to congressional Republicans seeking to preserve and expand their majority in the narrowly divided chamber. The Senate Redistricting and Elections Committee approved a plan for North Carolina’s 14 U.S. House seats, creating 10 districts that appear to favor a Republican, three that favor a Democrat and one that could be considered competitive, according to statewide election data included with the proposal. Both parties currently hold seven seats each in the state’s congressional delegation after a panel of trial judges fashioned temporary boundaries for the 2022 election.”
  • WRAL: NC lawmakers choose new congressional map, approve other redistricting changes: “Lawmakers in the state Senate settled on new congressional districts Monday that would give North Carolina Republicans a significant edge in upcoming elections for U.S. House seats. Meanwhile, both chambers in the General Assembly continued debating voting lines for their own chambers. The maps, made public last week, appear likely to boost Republicans’ influence in Washington and Raleigh for years to come. Facing criticism from Democrats, Republicans defended the changes, which would give their party a sizable advantage in future congressional elections, as legal and fair. The new maps would also help Republicans likely keep control the state legislature. ‘Republicans can expect to continue to win supermajorities, even when the Democrats win more than 50% of the statewide vote,’ said Rep. Pricey Harrison, D-Guilford. ‘These maps are not going to reflect the electorate of North Carolina,’ she added.”

MICHIGAN: Michigan Court of Appeals affirms decision to strike down the state’s rules on partisan election challengers

  • Detroit Free Press: Michigan election challenger rules to change per court order: “The Michigan Court of Appeals last week upheld a lower court ruling invalidating rules for election challengers and ordering the Secretary of State’s office to update its instructions for election observers. Just ahead of the 2022 midterms, the Michigan Supreme Court suspended that lower court ruling and prevented any last-minute changes to the rules election challengers had to follow. But nearly a year later, the appeals court finally weighed in. In a unanimous decision, the court determined that the Secretary of State’s office overstepped with their election challenger restrictions such as one barring observers from bringing phones into the counting rooms where election workers process absentee ballots. During the 2020 election, election challengers created a chaotic environment in Detroit where they banged on the windows and demanded election workers stop the count. Disputes over the 2020 election prompted the Bureau of Elections to issue new instructions outlining the rights and duties of election challengers and poll watchers, according to a legal brief from the bureau.”

MONTANA: RNC and Montana Republican Party move on federal lawsuit defending the state’s new law that imposes criminal penalties on people who are registered to vote in more than one state

  • Bozeman Daily Chronicle: RNC, state GOP seek to join ‘double voting’ lawsuit in Montana: “The Republican National Committee is moving in on a federal lawsuit in Montana to defend the state’s new law banning ‘double voting.’ The RNC, in a joint motion with the Montana Republican Party, submitted legal paperwork Tuesday requesting to join the recently filed legal challenge as ‘intervenors’ to argue its interest in upholding the law. ‘Dark-money Democrat groups are committed to destroying basic election safeguards, but the RNC will fight and beat them every step of the way,’ RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel said in a statement shared exclusively with the Montana State News Bureau. ‘Making sure that folks can only vote once in each election is just common sense. The RNC and MTGOP have intervened in this lawsuit because Montanans deserve election integrity, not underhanded Democrat schemes. The case at hand challenges House Bill 892, sponsored by Missoula Republican Rep. Lyn Hellegaard and passed by the GOP-run Legislature.”

WISCONSIN: State Republicans advance constitutional amendments on voter ID, voter eligibility, and more

  • Associated Press: Wisconsin Republicans look to pass constitutional amendments on voter eligibility, elections grants: “Republicans who control the Wisconsin Legislature have advanced a series of constitutional amendments that would outlaw private funding for elections ahead of the 2024 presidential contest, bar municipalities from allowing non-U.S. citizens to vote in local elections and enshrine existing voter photo ID requirements in the state constitution. The proposals debated Tuesday at a joint hearing of the Senate and Assembly elections committees stem from false claims made by former President Donald Trump and his supporters that widespread voter fraud tipped the 2020 presidential election in favor of President Joe Biden. Constitutional amendments must be passed in two consecutive sessions of the state Legislature before being ratified by voters in a statewide election. The governor cannot veto a constitutional amendment.”
  • Wisconsin Public Radio: Wisconsin’s voter ID law would be enshrined in the state Constitution under GOP proposal: “Wisconsin’s photo identification requirement for voters would become enshrined in the Wisconsin Constitution under a proposal making its way through the Legislature, a move GOP lawmakers say is aimed at preventing the new liberal majority on the state Supreme Court from doing away with the law. Republicans are also weighing other changes to the state Constitution that would affect voters, including a ban on non-citizen voting and a ban on the use of private funds for elections. Members of the public weighed in on the three proposed amendments at a public hearing on Tuesday. To be approved, the resolutions would have to pass two consecutive legislative sessions and then be approved by voters. They would not be subject to a Governor’s veto. The voter ID proposal would render permanent a state law requiring a voter to show photographic proof of identity before casting a ballot. Supporters of ID laws say that they’re a shield against voter fraud, while opponents say that they serve to discourage voting.”

What Experts Are Saying

Norm Eisen, in a 10/23 press briefing on the Georgia case: “There have been some statements about Chesebro being a marginal figure. No. When you plead guilty to a felony of conspiracy – to do the false documents [and] be a part of promulgating and propagating the false documents that are at the core of this assault on the 2020 election – that is not fringe or marginal. That’s at the very center. With [attorney John] Eastman and [attorney Rudy] Giuliani, Chesebro was a main architect of this scheme.”

Andrew Weissmann, in a 10/23 press briefing on the Georgia case: “I think if [Chesebro] did not believe in the ‘Big Lie’ and still did what he did, that makes what he did worse not better. … I think it might have been a statement [by Chesebro’s lawyer] that was trying to make him more palatable publicly. But from a criminal law perspective, if he engaged, as he now has said he did, in the fake election scheme – which is so core to what happened here in terms of overthrowing the Georgia and federal election – and he didn’t in fact believe that it was a big lie, that to me makes it worse not better.”

Mike Podhorzer, on the pervasiveness of the myth of the Big Lie, on the America’s WorkForce Union podcast: “I think it’s very much a product of information, but that a lot of people have chosen to live in, where there’s a reality to those lies that’s hard to penetrate. And that’s why this country really is so toxically divided: because we can’t agree on what’s true.”

Bennett Gershman, a former New York prosecutor and law professor at Pace University, to Salon: “Every person, including Trump, has the right to engage in ‘forceful political advocacy. But Trump and his co-conspirators went far beyond advocacy. Trump and his cohorts engaged in a criminal conspiracy to subvert the results of a lawful election by illegal means. To endorse this argument would be to sanction any action taken under the guise of political advocacy, including violence and even political assassination.”

Marc Elias, on the attempt to use Independent State Legislature Theory (ISLT) in a lawsuit in Michigan, for Democracy Docket: “Fortunately, the legal gambit to overturn the pro-voting constitutional amendments in Michigan is destined to fail. Last term, the Supreme Court rejected the fringe ISL theory in Moore. There is no reason to think the Court will want to take up the issue again so soon or on these facts. Further working against the GOP lawsuit is that it also directly contradicts an earlier Supreme Court case that specifically approved of the ballot initiative process as a means of adding election-related provisions to state constitutions.”

Headlines

Extremism

Washington Post: Trump pledges to turn away those who don’t like ‘our religion’

CNN: Guilty pleas from ex-Trump attorneys deal blow to right-wing media outlets that amplified election lies

NPR: More Americans say they support political violence

Trump investigations

Washington Post: Michael Cohen and Trump meet again during civil fraud trial

Roll Call: Trump lawyers point to House select Jan. 6 panel in effort to dismiss criminal charges

Washington Post: Tracking the Trump investigations and where they stand

CNN: Trump offers new defense for classified docs found in a bathroom

Washington Post: Trump Ordered to Pay $10,000 in New Punishment for Breaking Gag Order

January 6 and the 2020 Elections

Fox 5 Atlanta: Georgia man charged for assaulting police during Jan. 6 capitol breach in Washington, D.C.

ABC 7 East Texas: Court documents indicate Longview man pleading guilty in connection with Jan. 6 Capitol riots

Opinion

Time: The Most Important Lesson America Taught Me After the Jan. 6 Attack

Washington Post: The Black prosecutors taking on Trump know what they’re up against

New York Times: Trump’s Lawyers Are Going Down. Is He?

In the States

MinnPost: Felons’ voting rights unaffected by unprompted ruling by judge on new law, say AG Ellison, Sec. Simon

Yakima Herald-Republic: Trial date set in voting rights lawsuit against Yakima County over Latino signatures

Arizona Daily Star: Task force seeks Arizona election law changes

Nevada Independent: Federal judge dismisses lawsuit challenging election worker protection bill