Driving the Day:
#BREAKING: The Justice Department has issued about 40 subpoenas over the past week seeking information about the actions of former President Donald Trump and his associates related to the 2020 election and the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.https://t.co/WaNvMzUYHZ
— Defend Democracy Project (@DemocracyNowUS) September 12, 2022
What To Watch For Today:
The final primaries of the year happen in Delaware, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island
Must Read Stories
Justice Department Subpoenas Dozens Of Trump Associates In An Expansion Of The January 6 Probe
- New York Times: Justice Dept. Issues 40 Subpoenas in a Week, Expanding Its Jan. 6 Inquiry: Justice Department officials have seized the phones of two top advisers to former President Donald J. Trump and blanketed his aides with about 40 subpoenas in a substantial escalation of the investigation into his efforts to subvert the 2020 election, people familiar with the inquiry said on Monday. The seizure of the phones, coupled with a widening effort to obtain information from those around Mr. Trump after the 2020 election, represent some of the most aggressive steps the department has taken thus far in its criminal investigation into the actions that led to the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob. The extent of the investigation has come into focus in recent days, even though it has often been overshadowed by the government’s legal clash with Mr. Trump and his lawyers over a separate inquiry into the handling of presidential records, including highly classified materials, the former president kept at his residence in Florida, Mar-a-Lago. Federal agents with court-authorized search warrants took phones last week from at least two people: Boris Epshteyn, an in-house counsel who helps coordinate Mr. Trump’s legal efforts, and Mike Roman, a campaign strategist who was the director of Election Day operations for the Trump campaign in 2020, people familiar with the investigation said. Mr. Epshteyn and Mr. Roman have been linked to a critical element of Mr. Trump’s bid to hold onto power: the effort to name slates of electors pledged to Mr. Trump from swing states won by Joseph R. Biden Jr. in 2020 as part of a plan to block or delay congressional certification of Mr. Biden’s Electoral College victory.
The January 6 Committee Will Meet In Person Today To Discuss Its Next Steps
- CNN: January 6 Committee Set To Meet In Person On Tuesday As It Debates Whether To Invite Trump And Pence To Appear: As the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack nears its final chapter, members plan to meet in person on Tuesday and one of the most pressing questions they’ll address is whether the committee should formally request that former President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence appear before them. Such appearances are exceedingly rare in US history. According to multiple sources, the committee does not expect either man to testify, but some members and staff believe the invitations should be extended for the record. “How do you create a historic record without including formal requests for the two top witnesses,” said one source familiar to the committee’s work. Members of the committee, including Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat, have consistently said they’d like to hear from Pence and would welcome Trump’s testimony should he offer it on their terms but internal discussions about formally reaching out to both men has intensified in recent weeks now that the panel’s investigation will soon come to an end, the sources said.
In The States
FLORIDA: A Large Florida County GOP Debates Banning FBI Agents, Outlawing Electronic Voting Machines, and Labeling The WHO A “Terrorist Organization”
- Florida Politics: Lee County GOP to Consider Branding WHO As Terrorists and Barring IRS and FBI Agents: Lee County Republicans this week will consider resolutions demanding Florida outlaw electronic voting machines and federal agents. They will also consider whether to declare the World Health Organization (WHO) and World Economic Forum (WEF) as terrorist organizations. The series of controversial resolutions will appear on the agenda for a special meeting to be held Sept. 15 at party headquarters. The meeting will be closed to the public, with only REC members permitted to attend. Jonathan Martin, Chair of the Lee County Republican Executive Committee (REC), stressed that the resolutions do not represent the view of the REC unless and until a majority of members support adopting them. “They are not necessarily a priority of the party until the party chooses to make them a priority,” said Martin, a likely incoming state Senator.
MICHIGAN: Prominent Republicans Join Coalition Supporting Governor Whitmer’s Reelection
- Detroit Metro Times: Prominent Republicans Join Coalition To Support Whitmer For Reelection: More than 150 Michigan Republicans banded together to launch a group supporting Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s reelection bid, her campaign announced Monday. The group includes business leaders, former state lawmakers, an ex-congressman, and top staff from the Republican administrations of Gov. John Engler and Rick Snyder. Jeff Timmer, the former head of the Michigan Republican Party, also signed on. “We, as Michiganders, know what a great place this state is to live, work, and recreate. We also know we have a bright future,” Bill Parfet, chairman and CEO of Northwood Group, said in a statement. “To reach that future, we all need to work together to revamp education, infrastructure, effective government, job creation, safer communities, vital core cities, and preserving the state’s incredible national resources. We all want the same outcomes.” The formation of the group comes as the Michigan Republican Party struggles to unify ahead of the November election. With far-right candidates for governor, secretary of state, and attorney general, the party has alienated moderate Republicans as it continues to echo former President Donald Trump’s election lies and push an anti-abortion agenda.
What Experts Are Saying
Joyce Vance, former US attorney: “Here’s the thing: Trump was an elected president, there to serve the country for 4 years. Once gone, he had no more right to gov’t property than any other citizen. He is acting like a king exercising royal prerogatives when in fact, he’s just a law breaker.” Tweet
Noah Bookbinder, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), and Donald K. Sherman, deputy director for CREW: “The 246-year-old American experiment in self-governance cannot continue if our leaders are free to disregard the very principles on which it is based, and even incite mobs to take up arms against the Constitution and laws, without consequence.” NBC News (Think): Why our 14th Amendment lawsuit against a Trump fanatic sets a key American precedent
Francis Fukuyama, political scientist at Stanford University:“SARGENT: ‘It’s like a right-wing authoritarian Internationale. How do you think about the global right?’ FUKUYAMA: ‘I think it’s much deeper than most people realize. Russia has been giving support to every single one of these right-wing populists. I don’t know of a single democracy that’s not been hit by mountains of Russian disinformation, all of which is trying to weaken people’s confidence and trust in their existing institutions and leaders.’” The Washington Post
Adrienne Jones, assistant professor and pre-law adviser at Morehouse College in Atlanta: “The right to vote, access to healthcare, education, and a habitable environment all matter to democracy. We need to accept that unless these fundamental tenets are protected, our democracy will continue to erode.” Telegraph Herald
Headlines
The MAGA Movement And The Ongoing Threat To Elections
CNBC: Some corporate titans are coming up short on supporting voting and democracy, watchdog report says
Oregon Capital Chronicle: Oregon congressional candidate Alek Skarlatos joked about choking women
ProPublica: The Fight Against an Age-Old Effort to Block Americans From Voting
Washington Post: Daughter says QAnon conspiracy theory fueled father’s deadly rampage
Washington Post: Democrats spend tens of millions amplifying far-right candidates in nine states
January 6 And The 2020 Election
Axios: First look: Pence was “angry” on Jan. 6
CNN: Republican congressman presents convicted January 6 rioter with flag flown over US Capitol after her release from prison
The Hill: GOP senators led by Graham slam Trump Jan. 6 pardon promise
Other Trump Investigations
Associated Press: Trump team takes aim at records probe; calls it ‘misguided’
New York Times: Trump Asks Judge to Keep Blocking F.B.I. From Working With Seized Classified Files
Washington Post: Justice Dept. says it would accept Trump nominee for special master
Opinion
New York Times (Paul Krugman): Ukraine Deflates MAGA Macho Myths
In The States
Daily Beast: Plaintiff in Wacky Laura Loomer ‘Fraud’ Suit: Take My Name Off
Mountain State Spotlight: WV elected officials helped push a radical legal theory now at the Supreme Court. Experts warn it could threaten democracy
