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Defend Our Country Digest

Defend Our Country Digest — October 3, 2023

By October 3, 2023No Comments

Driving the Day

Must Read Stories

Prosecutors renew push for gag order on Trump in 2020 federal case

  • Politico: Trump’s attack on Milley fuels special counsel’s push for a gag order: “Special counsel Jack Smith’s office argued Friday that Donald Trump’s recent attacks on Gen. Mark Milley and one of their own newly appointed prosecutors bolster their case to put a gag order on the former president ahead of his trial in Washington, D.C. In a 22-page filing, senior assistant special counsel Molly Gaston said prosecutors rejected Trump’s claims that their proposed gag order was an attempt to silence him on the campaign trail. Rather, she said, it was an effort to prevent him from trying to make ‘use of his candidacy as a cover for making prejudicial public statements about this case.’”
  • New York Times: Prosecutors Reassert Need for Gag Order on Trump in Elections Case: “Federal prosecutors on Friday reasserted the need to impose a gag order on former President Donald J. Trump in the case accusing him of seeking to overturn the 2020 election. They said that even after they first asked a judge three weeks ago to limit his remarks, Mr. Trump has continued to wage “a sustained campaign of prejudicial public statements” against witnesses, prosecutors and others. The prosecutors cited several threatening statements that Mr. Trump made since they initially asked Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, who is overseeing the election interference case in Federal District Court in Washington, to impose the gag order. Their request was first filed under seal on Sept. 5 and a public version was released 10 days later. Judge Chutkan has yet to rule on the matter.”

Georgia updates: Trump abandons bid to transfer case to federal court; co-defendant pleads guilty

  • PBS: Trump won’t try to move Georgia case to federal court after judge rejected similar bid by Meadows: “Former President Donald Trump will not seek to get his Georgia election interference case transferred to federal court, his attorneys said in a filing Thursday, three weeks after a judge rejected a similar attempt by the former president’s White House chief of staff. The notice filed in federal court in Atlanta follows a Sept. 8 decision from U.S. District Judge Steve Jones that chief of staff Mark Meadows “has not met even the ‘quite low’ threshold” to move his case to federal court, saying the actions outlined in the indictment were not taken as part of Meadows’ role as a federal official. Meadows is appealing that ruling.”
  • NPR: First Trump co-defendant pleads guilty in the Georgia election interference case: “A bail bondsman charged alongside former President Donald Trump and 17 others in the Georgia election interference case pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges on Friday, becoming the first defendant to accept a plea deal with prosecutors. As part of the deal, Scott Graham Hall will receive five years of probation and agreed to testify in further proceedings. He was also ordered to write a letter of apology to the citizens of Georgia and is forbidden from participating in polling activities. Hall, 59, pleaded guilty to five counts of conspiracy to commit intentional interference with performance of election duties, all misdemeanors, at a surprise court hearing. Prosecutors had accused him of participating in a breach of election equipment in rural Coffee County and initially charged him with racketeering and six conspiracy counts, all felonies.”
  • The Hill: Georgia prosecutor in Trump case says threats ‘a waste of time’: “Fulton County, Ga., District Attorney Fani Willis denounced Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) over a recent letter demanding documents on her criminal indictment of former President Trump, which she interpreted as a threat. ‘In this job, and as a woman in general standing in this position, to threaten me is a waste of time,’ Willis said at the Revolt World Festival in Atlanta on Sunday. Willis’s official response to Jordan’s letter questioned his understanding of the law, deriding his ‘attempt to interfere with and obstruct this office’s prosecution,’ and said her response wasn’t even needed because ‘settled constitutional law clearly permits me to ignore your unjustified and illegal intrusion.’ ‘It’s not going to get anyone results and I don’t care if it’s a member of Congress, I don’t care if it’s a local someone in the community, one thing that people learn about me is that I’m an equal opportunity prosecutor,’ Willis said Sunday. ‘So, if you come into this community and you violate the law, you’re going to be held accountable.’”
  • Rolling Stone: Trump Asked His Lawyers for Ways to Suppress His ‘Perfect Call’: “In public, Donald Trump says his conversation with the Georgia secretary of state asking to “find” votes for him was “a perfect call.” But in private, sources familiar with the matter tell Rolling Stone, the former president sounded a different tone about the conversation, asking his attorneys to draw up proposals for how to suppress its use in the criminal case against him. Facing defeat in Georgia by nearly 12,000 votes, Trump called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in early January 2021 demanding that he “find 11,780 votes,” a number which Trump noted “is one more than we have because we won the state.” Raffensperger released a recording of the call shortly thereafter — triggering months’ worth of claims from Trump that he did nothing wrong. As his criminal prosecution in Fulton County, Georgia, built momentum in recent months, that call only gained in importance. Since last year, Trump has been briefed multiple times by some of his legal advisers on specific strategies for attempting to get the tape tossed out in court, according to two sources familiar with the matter. At Trump’s urging, some of the former president’s legal advisers have prepared arguments to try and suppress the call, and discussed them at the upper ranks of Trumpland for months.”

Trump attends civil fraud trial

  • New York Times: As His Fraud Trial Begins, Trump Looks to Capitalize on It: “Former President Donald J. Trump is expected to attend the opening of the civil trial in the New York attorney general’s fraud case against him on Monday, as his political team seeks to turn it into a rallying cry for supporters. The decision to show up voluntarily in court by Mr. Trump, who has already been compelled to courthouses in four different criminal arraignments this year, underscores how personally aggrieved Mr. Trump feels by the accusations of fraud, as well as his own self-confidence that showing up will help his legal cause. The move also reveals how inverted the norms of politics have become in the Trump-era Republican Party: Being accused of wrongdoing could be politically beneficial despite the very real legal jeopardy.”
  • Reuters: Trump’s civil fraud trial in New York explained: “Donald Trump and his family business are set to face trial in New York on Monday to determine how much they owe in penalties after a judge found they inflated the former U.S. president’s assets by billions of dollars to secure more favorable loan and insurance terms. Here is a look at the case brought by Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James against the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.”

In The States

LOUISIANA: Federal appeals court blocks the redrawing of Louisiana’s congressional map

  • Louisiana Illuminator: 5th Circuit cancels redrawing of Louisiana’s congressional district map: “The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has canceled the redrawing of Louisiana’s congressional districts that was scheduled to begin Oct. 3, adding another delay to the efforts of Black voters to gain equitable representation. NAACP Legal Defense Fund attorney Jared Evans confirmed the news Thursday afternoon, saying the Republican defendants are claiming a lower court judge didn’t give them enough chances to adopt a new map that complies with the Voting Rights Act nor enough time to prepare a defense. A three-judge panel from the 5th Circuit voted 2-1 Thursday to cancel the lower court’s hearing in which U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick was expected to approve a map containing two majority-Black congressional districts. Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, who is running for governor, filed a request for a mandamus vacating Dick’s planned hearing, claiming it was rushed in a “clear abuse of discretion.”Voting in favor of Landry’s request were Circuit Judges Edith Jones, a Reagan appointee, and James Ho, a Trump appointee. Circuit Judge Stephen Higginson, an Obama appointee, dissented.”

MICHIGAN: State GOP lawmakers sue to overturn two voting rights initiatives as the Democratic-controlled house pass five pro-voting bills

  • Michigan Radio: Republican lawmakers sue over voter-approved election ballot proposals: “Eleven Republican state lawmakers filed suit in federal court Thursday to invalidate two of Michigan’s recent constitutional amendments concerning elections. One target is 2018’s Proposal 3, which ushered in no-excuse absentee voting, and same-day and automatic voter registration. It also lent constitutional protections for straight-ticket voting. It passed with slightly over two-thirds of the vote. The second target is last year’s Proposal 2. That amendment created a nine-day early voting period, guaranteed the right to vote without a photo ID by signing an affidavit, and required state-funded postage for absentee ballots. Voters approved it by a nearly two-to-one margin. The lawsuit alleges both amendments, which got to the ballot via the petition process, unconstitutionally skipped legislative input. It argues both the U.S. Constitution and the Michigan Constitution give authority over election laws to state lawmakers.”
  • Michigan Advance: Dems say new Michigan voting rights bills strengthen democracy: “The state House in Michigan voted through a handful of bills aimed at addressing different elements of the voting process to ensure every eligible voter can participate in elections. The bills address maintaining online voter applications, voting rights for military spouses, as well as eliminating certain parts of the state’s voting laws with the goal of allowing increased access to voters on Election Day. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson issued a statement Wednesday after the House voted on the legislation, saying the bills strengthen democracy in the state. “At a time when voting rights are under attack at the federal level and in other states, I’m proud that Michigan is a leader in protecting and strengthening our fundamental right to participate in elections,” said Benson, a Democrat. “These bills keep our polling sites accessible for everyone and ensure the continued security of our absentee voting system.”

MISSISSIPPI: U.S. appeals court to reconsider decision striking down Mississippi voter disenfranchisement law

  • Associated Press: US court will reconsider ruling that granted voting rights to Mississippians convicted of felonies: “A significant expansion of voting rights in Mississippi was put in doubt Thursday when a federal appeals court said it’s reconsidering an earlier decision to allow people convicted of certain felonies to cast ballots. The 5th U.S. Circuit of Appeals said in a Thursday filing that a majority of the appeals court’s 16 active judges would take a new look at the 2-1 decision delivered by a panel on Aug. 4. Mississippi attorneys, led by state Attorney General Lynn Fitch, a Republican, had asked for the review. Granting the review means the Aug. 4 decision is vacated. The Aug. 4 ruling held that denying voting rights violated the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Mississippi lawyers argued that the panel’s decision would ‘inflict profound damage and sow widespread confusion.’ If the ruling had been allowed to stand, tens of thousands of people could have regained voting rights, possibly in time for the Nov. 7 general election for governor and other statewide offices.”

What Experts Are Saying

Mike Podhorzer in Washington Monthly: “Stressing over polling makes us think election outcomes are like the weather—something that happens to us. In reality, election outcomes are what we make happen—especially in the battleground states, which are so evenly and predictably divided. Remember: any election within the margin of error is also within the margin of effort.”

Michael Beckel, Research Director at Issue One, in Salon: “Election workers across the country are dedicated to keeping our democratic processes secure, fair and safe. When experienced election officials leave their positions, they take with them years of institutional knowledge and expertise. Our leaders have an obligation to protect our nation’s election workers and make sure they have what they need to keep our elections strong.”

Jessica Pishko for Democracy Docket: “State nullification of civil rights was a deliberately racist and intentionally white supremacist project. In 1956, the Virginia Legislature wrote a report justifying the state’s decision to refuse desegregation. Quoting James Madison, the report declares that refusal to enforce Supreme Court rulings is not ‘positive defiance’ — which would go too far, the report demurs — but rather ‘arresting the progress of the evil.’ The evil, of course, was Black children sitting next to white children in schools. Allowing sheriffs to dictate the implementation of laws — like we saw in Illinois and New Mexico — subverts the democratic will of the people. Far-right sheriffs, including those who might not identify as ‘constitutional sheriffs,’ have embraced the notion of nullification using the same quotes from James Madison that the segregationists used. They make these claims without irony, ignoring that these were the words of John C. Calhoun as he sought to ensure that Black citizens would remain enslaved even where they were the majority.”

Joyce Vance on X (Twitter): “Trump is increasingly referencing violence in a way that is disturbing, alarming. It’s being excused as “just Trump” in far too many quarters, suggesting the frogs are already boiled.”

Letitia James, New York’s Attorney General, at a press conference before Trump’s fraud trial on Monday: “No matter how powerful you are. No matter how much money you think you may have. No one is above the law!”

Headlines

MAGA and the Threat to 2024 Elections

The Guardian: Democracy and distrust: overcoming threats to the 2024 US election

Rolling Stone: Twitter Fires Election Integrity Team Ahead of 2024 Elections

Trump investigations

Bloomberg Law: Thomas Issues Rare Recusal in Jan. 6 Trump Lawyer Appeal

January 6 and the 2020 Elections

Axios: Justice Thomas recuses himself in ex-Trump lawyer’s Jan. 6 case appeal

NBC: Jan. 6 rioter who urged mob to take officer’s guns took a secret plea deal, DOJ confirms

Opinion

The Hill: The removal dilemma: Trump’s fatal choice

New York Times: There’s a Crucial Question About Trump, Real Estate and Fraud

The Hill: It’s up to the judges to gag Trump now

In the States

Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio redistricting measure to replace politicians with citizen panel clears 1st hurdle

WTVR: Report raises new questions over Virginia felon voting rights restoration

WTSP: Federal trial set to resume in Florida congressional redistricting case

Kansas Recorder: Kansas AG says law puts premium on election recounts tied to paper ballots, hand tabulation