Tag Archives: The Big Lie
“Trump pledged to pardon Jan. 6 rioters. He faces pressure to name names.”
An excerpt from the WaPo piece about the law-and-order candidate:
Trump has steadily escalated his glorification of Jan. 6 defendants, often known in the MAGA movement as “J6ers,” describing them as hostages and patriots who have been mistreated. After his conviction in New York on 34 counts of falsifying business records, Trump proudly adopted the term “political prisoner” for himself.
“2020’s ‘fake elector’ schemes will be harder to try in 2024 – but not impossible”
Derek Muller, for The Conversation, recounts some of the ways that both the law and enforcement have changed in the last four years.
Speaking of which, Wisconsin Public Radio reports that an attorney charged last week in the Wisconsin false-elector scheme has been temporarily suspended from a panel advising state judges on ethics.
“In top races, Republicans try to stay quiet on Trump’s false 2020 claims”
Washington Post reports that while those auditioning for Vice President maybe embracing Trump’s narrative, Republican candidates in tight races are being intentionally vague, redirecting the focus on election rules. Also not good.
“[Unlike in 2022], many of the Republicans running alongside Trump in swing races are being far more ambiguous about their stance on 2020. Whether they have previously dismissed or embraced his claims, GOP nominees in some of the year’s most critical races are now evading the question and changing the topic. A number of them have steered clear of his most brazen allegations but tried to endear themselves to Trump’s supporters by questioning voting rules.”
SCOTUS, Social Media Removal of Hate is Not “Discrimination”
This is Orwellian.
Texas and Florida passed state laws that effectively hinder social media platforms in removing hate, white supremacy, election denialism, and similar content. The states are currently before the U.S. Supreme Court in the NetChoice cases attempting to defend those laws. As Daphne Keller explains:
Yet now, in their briefs, Texas and Florida are also arguing their laws prohibit discrimination, just as civil rights laws do. On that logic, ‘must-carry’ laws that may compel platforms to carry racist diatribes and hate speech are justified for the same reasons as laws that prohibit businesses from discriminating based on race or gender.
This should be obvious, but Facebook or YouTube deciding to remove a racial slur, Nazi propaganda, or white nationalist attempts to mainstream “replacement theory” is not the same as Woolworth’s deciding to remove African American college students sitting at a lunch counter and attempting to order food.
Daphne has more here.
“Don’t blame democracy’s woes on the GOP or ‘tyranny of the minority’”
Jennifer Rubin in the WaPo:
Two of the year’s best books on politics present contrasting diagnoses for what ails American democracy.
Liz Cheney’s “Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning” lowers the boom on the mendacious and cowardly Republicans and the now four-times-indicted former president Donald Trump, whom they enabled in nearly destroying our democratic system. “Tyranny of the Minority: Why American Democracy Reached the Breaking Point,” by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, cites structural protections for the minority that have been exploited to the point that self-government is threatened. Both books have a point, but neither puts the blame squarely where it should be. . . .
Plainly, we need both structural change and public virtue to repair our democracy. But there is another element the analyses do not fully acknowledge: voters. We get the government we want and deserve.
“From Bush v. Gore to ‘Stop the Steal’: Kenneth Chesebro’s Long, Strange Trip”
N.Y. Times has an in-depth profile of Kenneth Chesebro.
“Some former colleagues say Mr. Chesebro’s 180-degree turn came after a lucrative 2014 investment in Bitcoin and a subsequent posh, itinerant lifestyle. Others, like Mr. Tribe, see Mr. Chesebro as a ‘moral chameleon’ and his story an old one about the seduction of power.
‘He wanted to be close to the action,’ said Mr. Tribe, who is among 60 lawyers and scholars who signed an ethics complaint in New York that could result in Mr. Chesebro’s disbarment. At Harvard, Mr. Chesebro assisted Mr. Tribe on many cases, including Bush v. Gore, which Mr. Tribe, as Mr. Gore’s chief legal counsel, argued before the Supreme Court.”
“Special counsel Jack Smith pulls subpoena over pro-Trump fundraising”
Washington Post raises questions about what can be inferred from the decision of Special counsel Jack Smith to withdraw “a subpoena seeking records about fundraising by the political action committee Save America.” The group, controlled by former president Donald Trump, was involved in efforts to block the results of the 2020 presidential election.
“The federal cases against Trump are legitimate: Bill Barr”
Video of Fox News interview yesterday. N.Y. Post has a story describing the interview. With respect to the federal indictment for conspiracy to subvert the 2020, Barr made clear that he believes that Trump “crossed the line” into criminal culpability:
“Barr added that he believes Trump ‘crossed the line’ after the 2020 election and that his alleged efforts to impanel fake electors in conjunction with demanding that former Vice President Mike Pence not certify Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory ‘was a calculated and deceitful plan.’
“’I think the chances are that he will be convicted on some counts,’” Barr said.”
“Trump cancels press conference on election fraud claims, citing attorneys’ advice”
“‘Rather than releasing the Report on the Rigged & Stolen Georgia 2020 Presidential Election on Monday, my lawyers would prefer putting this, I believe, Irrefutable & Overwhelming evidence of Election Fraud & Irregularities in formal Legal Filings as we fight to dismiss this disgraceful Indictment,’ Trump wrote on his social media site Thursday in announcing his reversal.”
“Mark Meadows Is Everywhere and Nowhere”
N.Y. Times opinion essay by Katherine Miller.
This is an interesting summary of Meadow’s relevance to some key issues. From my perspective, I would add that Meadow’s testimony would be especially relevant to any adjudication that might occur of Trump’s status under section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment. In particular, did Trump’s behavior on January 6 itself rise to the level of “engage[ing]” in the “insurrection” by refusing to use his presidential powers to stop the attack on the Capitol that was in support of his orchestrated campaign to derail the joint session of Congress so that it would not officially declare that his opponent had won the election?
“Trump supporters post names and addresses of Georgia grand jurors online”
“The purported names and addresses of members of the grand jury that indicted Donald Trump and 18 of his co-defendants on state racketeering charges this week have been posted on a fringe website that often features violent rhetoric, NBC News has learned.
“NBC News is choosing not to name the website featuring the addresses to avoid further spreading the information. …
“The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, which is handling the surrender of Trump and his co-defendants over the next 10 days, initially declined to comment, but said in a statement Thursday after this article published that they are ‘aware that personal information of members of the Fulton County Grand Jury is being shared on various platforms.’
“‘As the lead agency, our investigators are working closely with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies to track down the origin of threats in Fulton County and other jurisdictions,’ a statement fro the sheriff’s office said Thursday. ‘We take this matter very seriously and are coordinating with our law enforcement partners to respond quickly to any credible threat and to ensure the safety of those individuals who carried out their civic duty.’ …
“’These jurors have signed their death warrant by falsely indicting President Trump,’ a post on a pro-Trump forum read in response to a post including the names of jurors, which was viewed by NBC News.”
“Texas Woman Charged With Threatening to Kill Judge in Trump Election Case”
N.Y. Times. I think this extremely disturbing story qualifies as election law news given that the case concerns election law. Also, it relates to the concerns about the possibility of violence, or threats of violence, surrounding the 2024 election–and the degree to which this risk escalates depending on how events unfold over the next months.
“Burt Jones braces for legal fight in Fulton County election probe”
The Jolt in the Atlanta-Journal Constitution.
“Lt. Gov. Burt Jones avoided charges in the far-ranging Fulton County indictment filed Monday that accused former President Donald Trump and key allies of a criminal conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election results. But Jones did participate in one of the election interference activities cited in the indictment — the Georgia fake electors scheme — and could still face prosecution.
“On Wednesday, the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia signaled it is considering a criminal complaint against Jones. The state agency’s head filed a motion to unseal a special grand jury report that potentially includes findings about Jones.
“The lieutenant governor told Fox News he welcomed the chance to tell a prosecutor his story.
“Jones’ case is complex. He was among the 16 Republicans who met secretly on Dec. 14, 2020 to sign election certificates claiming Trump as the state’s popular vote winner. Like the other alternate electors, Jones was notified last year by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis he could face charges.
“But a conflict-of-interest complaint against Willis led Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney to bar the DA’s office from investigating Jones. The ruling was in response to revelations that Willis hosted a fundraiser for Jones’ Democratic opponent in the 2022 election — a former colleague of hers.
“Enter the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council to probe Jones. …”