Daily Archives: February 5, 2022

Over Memorial Day weekend in 2011, a caravan of journalists chased her up the East Coast during a six-day trip from Washington to New Hampshire, believing she might use the occasion to announce that she would run against Mr. Obama. The trip also included a dinnertime stop at Trump Tower, where she and its most famous resident stepped out in front of the paparazzi on their way to get pizza.

She wouldnt reveal her intentions until later that year, in October. And when she did, she broke the news on Mark Levins radio show not on Fox News. It was a slight that infuriated Mr. Ailes, who had been paying her $1 million a year with the expectation that it would pay off with the buzz and big ratings that kind of announcement could generate.

There were signs at the time that Mr. Trump was starting to fill the void in Foxs coverage and in conservative politics that would exist without Ms. Palin center stage. He had been getting a considerable amount of coverage from the network lately for his fixation on wild rumors about Mr. Obamas background.

One interview in March 2011 on Fox & Friends the show known inside the network to be such a close reflection of Mr. Ailess favorite story lines that staff called it Rogers daybook was typical of how Mr. Trump used his media platform to endear himself to the hard right. He spent an entire segment that morning talking about ways that the president could be lying about being born in the United States. Its turning out to be a very big deal because people now are calling me from all over saying, Please dont give up on this issue, Mr. Trump boasted.

Three days after that interview, the network announced a new segment on Fox & Friends: Mondays With Trump. A promo teased that it would be Bold, brash and never bashful. And it was on Fox & Friends where Mr. Trump appeared after his pizza outing with Ms. Palin in the spring, talking up his prospects as a contender for the White House over hers.

Mr. Trump and Mr. Ailes were, at first, seemingly well matched.

Though he had financial motivations for promoting sensational but misleading stories, Mr. Ailes also seemed to be a true believer in some of the darkest and most bizarre political conspiracy theories.

In 2013, Mr. Obama himself raised the issue with Michael Clemente, the Fox News executive vice president for news, asking him at the White House Correspondents Dinner whether Mr. Ailes was fully bought-in on the conspiracies over the presidents birthplace. Does Roger really believe this stuff? Mr. Obama asked. Mr. Clemente answered, He does.

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Inside the Fox News That Donald Trump Helped Build - The New York Times

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) In 2016, Donald Trump overtook the Republican National Committee through a shock and awe campaign that stunned party leaders. In 2020, the party was obligated to support him as the sitting Republican president.

Heading into 2024, however, the Republican Party has a choice.

The RNC, which controls the partys rules and infrastructure, is under no obligation to support Trump again. In fact, the GOPs bylaws specifically require neutrality should more than one candidate seek the partys presidential nomination.

But as Republican officials from across the country gathered in Utah this week for the RNCs winter meeting, party leaders devoted considerable energy to disciplining Trumps rivals and embracing his grievances. As the earliest stages of the next presidential contest take shape, their actions made clear that choosing to serve Trump and his political interests remains a focus for the party.

If President Trump decides hes running, absolutely the RNC needs to back him, 100%, said Michelle Fiore, an RNC committeewoman who has represented Nevada since 2018. We can change the bylaws.

The loyalty to Trump is a fresh reminder that one of Americas major political parties is deepening its alignment with a figure who is undermining the nations democratic principles. As he fought to stay in the White House, Trump sparked a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. More recently, he has explicitly said that former Vice President Mike Pence could and should have overturned the election results, something he had no power to do.

Away from the ballrooms of the RNC meeting, Pence rebuked Trump on Friday, saying he had no right to overturn the election and that his former boss was wrong to suggest otherwise.

Pence is one of a few Republicans making moves toward a 2024 campaign regardless of whether Trump wages a comeback bid. If he were to run for the White House again, Trump is such a powerful force with the GOP base that he probably wouldnt need the partys help to become the nominee.

Some Republicans said thats beside the point.

Theres probably some disagreement there, said Bruce Hough, a longtime RNC member from Utah who lost to a Trump ally in a race for party co-chair last year. The RNC has to provide a level playing field for any and all comers for president. Thats our job. Thats what we have to do.

But a stark divide has emerged between veterans like Hough, who are devoted to the GOP as an institution, and a larger group of Trump-aligned newcomers, who argue theyre bringing new energy to the party. Their chief loyalty, however, seems to be to the former president.

Leading up to 2020, or most of the time Trump was in office, he sent around his minions to populate the committee with very loyal Trump folks in a lot of red states, said Bill Palatucci, an RNC committeeman from New Jersey and frequent Trump critic. And they still enjoy that strong majority.

The RNCs continued embrace of Trump more than two years before the 2024 election is a decided shift from the partys position in past elections.

In 2012 and 2016, for example, Reince Priebus as RNC chair went to great lengths to ensure each of the candidates was treated equally. The party sanctioned 12 debates, including early rounds that featured up to 17 candidates.

Clearly, theres a bias that didnt exist in the past, said Tim Miller, who previously worked for the Republican National Committee and has since emerged as a fierce Trump critic. Its all Trump all the time coming out of there.

A year ago, just after President Joe Bidens inauguration, RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel declined to encourage Trump to run again when asked, citing party rules that require neutrality. She also discouraged attacks on those Republicans who voted for Trumps impeachment.

This week, however, she backed an effort by Trump loyalists to censure Reps. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., and Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., a move triggered almost entirely by their fight against Trumps enduring influence in the party beyond the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

The censure, which passed on a voice vote Friday, says the two support Democrat efforts to destroy President Trump more than they support winning back a Republican majority in 2022.

McDaniels shift coincides with the RNCs reliance on Trump for fundraising. The party has issued hundreds of fundraising appeals since Trump left office evoking his name. One offered this message to prospective small-dollar donors on Tuesday: YOU must stand with President Trump and YOUR Party.

In speeches made minutes before party leaders voted to censure Cheney and Kinzinger, McDaniel and co-chair Tommy Hicks did not mention Trump and stressed the need to unify for the 2022 midterm elections.

Though the committees moves demonstrated a sustained loyalty to the former president, outside the winter meeting the censure was condemned by opponents as divisive and contrary to frequent appeals from leaders to expand the partys tent.

The RNCs discipline shows more about them than us, Kinzinger said in an interview. It shows that Trump and Trumpism has overtaken the RNC.

Cheney in a statement said the move demonstrated how the party had become hostage to Trump.

Indeed, this weeks focus on debates that wont take place until 2024 and on anti-Trump Republicans overshadowed the partys preparations for the midterm elections. Thats notable because the GOP could reclaim control of at least one chamber of Congress and several governors mansions.

But this week, Trumps grievances with his Republican critics took center stage instead.

We should be focused on what the voters are focused on, said Caleb Heimlich, chair of the Republican Party in Washington state, where two of three House members voted to impeach Trump following the Jan. 6 insurrection. Ive been talking to voters in Washington state, traveling around and nobody talks about Cheney. Thats a D.C. topic.

Others disagreed.

Harmeet Dhillon, an RNC committeewoman from California, said it was imperative to send a clear message about Cheney and Kinzinger for her and the legions of volunteers working to elect Republicans this year.

The midterms are about a party electing its leaders, and what Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney did here is defy their partys leadership, Dhillon said. I do not want to elect people in the midterms who do what these two did.

Beyond the censure, Republicans set in motion a rules change rooted in another of Trumps longstanding grievances. A measure advanced that would force presidential candidates to sign a pledge saying they will not participate in any debates sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates advanced. It is expected to be voted on when RNC members convene again in August.

We are not walking away from debates, McDaniel said. We are walking away from the Commission on Presidential Debates because its a biased monopoly that does not serve the best interests of the American people.

The eventual 2024 nominee, however, will have final say on whether to participate.

Another Republican eyeing a White House campaign, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, decried the RNCs push to punish Trumps rivals.

The GOP I believe in is the party of freedom and truth, the frequent Trump critic tweeted Friday. Its a sad day for my party and the country when youre punished just for expressing your beliefs, standing on principle, and refusing to tell blatant lies.

___

Peoples reported from New York.

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Trump's GOP: Party further tightens tie to former president - Associated Press

Georgia Gov. Brian KempBrian KempKemp invokes Trump in ad after former president slams him in ad for Perdue Stacey Abrams raises over M since launching bid for Georgia governor Ohio secretary of state finds 27 potentially illegal votes MORE (R) is responding to an ad from his chief primary rival that heavily features Donald Trump with a spot of his own invoking the former president.

The 30-second spot comes just a few days after former Sen. David PerdueDavid PerdueKemp invokes Trump in ad after former president slams him in ad for Perdue Stacey Abrams raises over M since launching bid for Georgia governor Ohio secretary of state finds 27 potentially illegal votes MORE (R-Ga.), whom Trump has endorsed to replace Kemp, unveiled the first ad of his gubernatorial campaign. That ad features Trump himself hammering Kemp and touting his support for Perdue.

But Kemps spot, which was paid for by the governors leadership committee, looks to turn the tables on Perdue, accusing him of outsourcing jobs to China throughout his lengthy business career despite Trumps campaign promise to bring back jobs that were sent overseas.

President TrumpDonald TrumpCanadian premier calls truckers protesting COVID-19 vaccine mandate an 'occupation' Hogan calls RNC censure of Cheney, Kinzinger a 'sad day' for GOP Jan. 6 defendant asks to subpoena Trump as trial witness MORE worked hard putting America first, a narrator says in the ad before flashing a clip of the former president vowing to bring jobs back from China.

But David Perdue sent American jobs to China over and over again, by the thousands, and made millions, the narrator continues. The ad then features a clip of Perdue saying that he was proud to outsource jobs.

The dueling ads underscore the bitter nature of the primary fight between Perdue and Kemp, a onetime Trump ally who drew the former presidents ire after he refused to help overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.

Despite Trumps efforts to oust Kemp, the incumbent governor has pushed on with his campaign, and recent polling shows him with a clear lead over Perdue. A Quinnipiac University survey released last week found Kemp notching 43 percent support among likely Republican voters in Georgia, while Perdue finished second with 36 percent.

Still, theres plenty of time between now and the May 24 primary. The eventual nominee will likely go on to face Democrat Stacey Abrams in the November general election. Abrams, who previously faced Kemp in the 2018 race for governor, isnt facing any primary opposition, giving her a glide path to the Democratic nomination.

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Kemp invokes Trump in ad after former president slams him in ad for Perdue | TheHill - The Hill

Donald Trump intervening in who he believes needs to be running in the Ohio GOP Senate primary is the latest example of the former president trying to influence elections across the country in order to see a return of a MAGA-majority government.

On Thursday, Cleveland businessman Bernie Moreno announced he is dropping out of the crowded Republican primary race after speaking to the former president and coming to the agreement that there are "too many Trump" candidates already vying for the seat.

Trump thanked Moreno for his "time and effort" during the campaign which he spent more than $3.75 million of his own money on.

"His decision will help ensure the MAGA Ticket wins BIG, as it is all over the Country. Thank you, Bernie, for your support and keep fighting," Trump said.

The move from Trump was a slight change in tactics in his overall plan to remain the de facto leader of the GOP ahead of the midterms and the 2024 election.

For months, Trump has made it his mission to see those who voted to impeach him for inciting the January 6 insurrection, as well those who don't support the view that the 2020 Election was rigged, defeated in the upcoming elections.

The former president has endorsed dozens of candidates running across all forms of government who seem willing to continue to push his voter fraud claims, the end goal being for the GOP to retake both the House and the Senate with his chosen lawmakers, pushing his MAGA politics from the inside.

Trump has been so keen to try parachuting his staunch allies into congressional seats that several of his picks are even challenging incumbent members of his own party who have dared to stand against him.

As noted by The Atlantic, there are three GOP incumbents who Trump would like to see lose their seats: Representative Liz Cheney, Senator Lisa Murkowski and Governor Brian Kemp.

Cheney, a Wyoming congresswoman, is one of only two Republicans who is part of the January 6 House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack.

She is arguably the most vocal Trump critic within the GOP and is currently facing a censure vote by the RNC having previously been ousted from her role as the party's conference chair over her repeated criticism of Trump.

In September, Trump endorsed attorney Harriet Hageman in her attempt to unseat Cheney. According to The Atlantic, Trump has been engaging in minor developments of Hageman's campaign, including going through copies of local news coverage and op-eds with a Sharpie pen and mailing the candidate notes of encouragement.

Another Republican who Trump has set his sights on is Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, the only Republican senator who voted to convict Trump in his impeachment trial over the January 6 attack who is standing for re-election in 2022.

In November, Trump endorsed rank outsider Kelly Tshibaka, a former commissioner of the Alaska Department of Administration who has promoted claims of election fraud, for the Alaska seat.

Trump made no secret of his plan to back anyone who is challenging those he considered an enemy of the MAGA movement, soon after announcing his backing of Tshibaka.

"Saving America starts by saving the GOP from RINOs, sellouts, and known losers! In the Senate, the 'Disaster from Alaska,' Lisa Murkowski (challenge accepted), must go. There is 'almost' nobody worse," the former president said.

Trump is also using his influence in areas of Alaskan politics. In December, he warned the state's incumbent GOP Governor Mike Dunleavy that he will endorse him, but only on the condition that he doesn't back Murkowski.

"If Mike endorses her, which is his prerogative, my endorsement of him is null and void, and of no further force or effect!" Trump said.

Another GOP politician facing the scorn of Trump is Georgia Governor Brian Kemp.

Kemp, who only narrowly defeated Democrat Stacey Abrams in 2018 after getting unbridled support from Trump, has since earned the former president's ire after he upheld the state's 2020 Election results, which ruled President Joe Biden the winner.

In response, Trump spent months urging David Perdue, a former Georgia senator who lost his seat in January 2020, to challenge the governor.

In a video confirming his backing of Perdue, Trump stated how the Democrats "walked all over" Kemp during the last election campaign.

"He was afraid of Stacey 'The Hoax' Abrams. Brian Kemp let us down. We can't let it happen again," Trump said. He also reiterates that Perdue is the only person running for Georgia governor that has his endorsement.

The significance of the midterms now has an added subplot with regard to how much power and influence Trump still has.

In previous years, Trump tended to mainly pick primary candidates who were already the favorite to win.

However, as noted by Five Thirty Eight, Trump's desire to endorse people who oppose him or the MAGA movement has meant he has backed more than 20 candidates who are up against incumbents, who rarely lose renomination.

Republican strategist Karl Rove said that Trump's 2022 endorsements based on "how vocally" they are willing to back his dismissed voter fraud cries rather than on their "viability" may ultimately backfire.

"In his business career, Mr. Trump put his name on everything from steaks to menswear to vodka, with mixed results," Rove wrote in a December editorial for the Wall Street Journal.

"Now he risks more than diluting his personal brand. Mr. Trump could help some Democrats hang on in an otherwise devastating election cycle in 2022 by forcing their opponents to harangue voters about an unpopular topic. If the GOP can't learn to shake the Trump obsession with alleged election fraud, the former president could even hand Democrats the White Houseagain."

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Donald Trump is Pulling the Strings in Races Up and Down the Country - Newsweek

Ex-White House national security advisor John Bolton suggested that former President Donald Trump would have "given Ukraine away" had he won the 2020 presidential election and was serving a second term during the current standoff with Russia.

Bolton told Newsweek that a second Trump term would likely have seen the former president double down on the conspiracy theories that poisoned his administration's ties with Kyiv and led to his first of two impeachments.

"I think he would have given Ukraine away, basically," Bolton told Newsweek. "Until they turn over that Democratic National Committee server and find out what Hunter Biden was doing in Ukraine, Ukraine was going to fend for itself."

"And you can see that with some of the Trumpsters these days, Tucker Carlson and people like that," Bolton added.

Fox News host Carlson has been at the forefront of right-wing skepticism on Ukraine. Carlson had dismissed Kyiv as "strategically irrelevant" to the U.S. and criticized the White House for alleged warmongering with Russia.

"I think in a second Trump term, the Russians would already be in Kyiv," Bolton said.

Newsweek has asked Trump's office for comment.

The former president has repeatedly made false claims relating to U.S. cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, which investigated a 2016 hack of a Democratic National Committee server that multiple private firms and U.S intelligence agencies blamed on Russia.

Trump and some of his Republican allies, however, claimed falsely and with no evidence that California-based CrowdStike was owned by an unnamed wealthy Ukrainian oligarch and that the company planted evidence on the DNC server to frame Russia.

The former president falsely claimed that CrowdStrike was holding the suspect server in Ukraine. In reality, the DNC said it decommissioned 140 servers related to the 2016 incident, 11 of which were later rebuilt, NBC News reported.

The milieu of Ukraine conspiracy theories adopted by Trump and his allies also included President Joe Biden's son, Hunter, who for a time served on the board of private Ukrainian oil and gas company Burisma.

Trump's focus on such theoriesdriven in part by former attorney Rudy Giuliani who ran the administration's shadow Ukraine agenda searching for dirt on Democratic opponentsled to his first impeachment for abuse of power.

He was found by the U.S. House to have pushed President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to interfere in the 2020 election by withholding hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. military aid and a White House invitation, both of which would be forthcoming if Ukraine agreed to investigate Hunter Biden and CrowdStrike. The Senate acquitted Trump.

In an infamous July 2019 call with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trump asked his Ukrainian counterpart "to do us a favor" and "find out what happened with this whole situation with Ukraine, they say CrowdStrike...I guess you have one of your wealthy people... The server, they say Ukraine has it."

The president added: "The other thing, There's a lot of talk about Biden's son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that so whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great. Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution so if you can look into it... It sounds horrible to me."

Bolton told Newsweek that the Biden administration is not showing the required resolve on Ukraine. "I don't think Putin believes the threat of post-facto sanctions after he invades," the former national security advisor said.

"I don't think he's made a decision to use military force yet. I think he's still calculating the cost-benefit logic here.

"There's a lot of reporting now on sending or making ready American troops and NATO countries in the regionin Romania, in the Baltics and Poland. All which I think is fine. I agree with it.

"But they're not going to Ukraine, and I don't think they deter. I think they reassure the NATO allies, which is an important thing to do. But I don't think it has any effect on Putin's calculus on Ukraine."

Bolton has recently argued for NATO troops to be deployed to Ukrainea red line that Russia has repeatedly stressed could provoke war. Moscow is demanding guarantees that Ukraine will not be allowed to join NATO, a proposal dismissed by Kyiv, the U.S., and the alliance.

More than 100,000 Russian troops remain deployed on Ukraine's northern, eastern and southern borders. The U.S. has repeatedly warned that a major invasion could be "imminent," while officials in Washington, D.C., Kyiv, and Brussels expect continued Russian hybrid warfare and agitation in the separatist-held Donbas region.

The U.S. has increased military aid to Ukraine and sent troops and hardware to Eastern Europe. Biden has ruled out deploying more American troops on Ukrainian soil. A force of Florida National Guard troops is currently in Ukraine on a training mission.

"The common question is assessing the firmness of American resolve," Bolton said.

"And I think withdrawal from Afghanistan blew a big hole in that in our credibility and our perception of our resolve, and therefore the effectiveness of our efforts to createin the case of Ukraine, for exampledeterrence by threatening sanctions in the future."

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If Donald Trump Had Won 'Russians Would Already Be in Kyiv,' John Bolton Says - Newsweek

Donald Trump could have a new job according to a note sent on Wednesday to members ofThe Mar-a-Lago Club, the exclusive golf resort where the former president now spends much of his time.

"The music will be amazing, it will be lots of fun, and will go until the late evening," the note continued.

It's unclear when the former president will assume the role of part-time DJ and will actually spin the decks or is just selecting the music. Insider reached out to The Mar-a-Lago Club for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Rep. Eric Swalwell of California joined the chorus of Twitter users who posted mocking suggestions of what Trump might play.

Trump isn't the only high-profile politician to surprise the public with an unexpected gig this week.

Insider reported that former Mayor of New York City Rudy Giuliani, who was part of Trump's personal legal team, is a contestant on the upcoming season of Fox's prime time show "The Masked Singer."

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Donald Trump will be 'playing the role of disc jockey' at Mar-a-Lago dinners, note to members reportedly says - Business Insider Africa

An obscure portion of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution says that public officials cannot serve in any future federal, state, or military office if they engaged in "insurrection or rebellion." Would that apply to people who participated in the Jan. 6 attack on Congress?

Some legal experts say the clause could be used against former officeholders up to and including former President Donald Trump who supported the events of that day.

In a notable test case, plaintiffs in North Carolina are seeking to apply the clause to GOP Rep. Madison Cawthorn, who spoke at the rally on Jan. 6 just before Trump supporters stormed the Capitol. The trespassers temporarily delayed Congress official counting of the electoral votes for the 2020 presidential election, which Trump lost to Joe Biden. Observers argue this qualifies as an insurrection.

Heres some background on the Disqualification Clause and its potential impact this year and beyond.

What does the amendment say?

While the 14th Amendment is best known for enabling African Americans to become citizens of the United States, Section 3 says that no person "shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military" who had previously taken an oath to support the Constitution and then "engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof."

The language was included "to prevent current and former U.S. military officers, federal officers and state officials who served the Confederacy from serving again in public office unless their disability was removed by at least a two-thirds vote of each house of Congress," wrote Gerard N. Magliocca, a law professor at Indiana University.

The provision was most frequently applied in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War, but in 1872, Congress granted amnesty to most officials covered by the section, and in 1898, another statute lifted the remaining prohibitions. The provision was rarely invoked in the 20th century.

Is the provision still relevant today?

Despite the long lapse in usage of Section 3, it could still carry weight, experts said.

"I think a court could find a person aided and participated in an attempt to overturn the result of a valid election," said Mark Graber, a University of Maryland law professor. "This is in theory no more difficult than proving persons aided and supported any illegal activity. And I think attempting to overturn an election by violence (qualifies as) an insurrection."

Despite this, the provision may have somewhat limited reach.

For starters, it only applies to former officials who swore an oath, meaning that any rank-and-file participant who stormed the Capitol and who didnt have any previous government or military service wouldnt be barred from serving in office.

"I suspect the number of likely candidates who could reasonably be affected by Section 3 is fairly small, though Donald Trump is potentially among them," said Keith Whittington, a Princeton University political scientist.

A potentially larger universe of candidates could be affected if a court construes "a judicial officer" to include lawyers, who are often referred to as "officers of the court" and who all take an oath to defend their state and the federal constitutions when sworn-in, said James Robenalt, lawyer at the firm Thompson Hine.

Another possible limiting factor is that the prospect of a court battle may not be enough to "deter the most ardent Trump supporters who wish to run for office," said Michael J. Gerhardt, a law professor at the University of North Carolina. In fact, Trump allies may find that defending against such charges could be useful to demonstrate their loyalty to the partys base.

What are the main challenges to leveraging the provision against Jan. 6 participants?

The biggest obstacle to using the Disqualification Clause against a potential candidate is the lack of a mechanism to implement it.

"It is unclear what is required to keep someone out of office," said Brian Kalt, a law professor at Michigan State University. "Some say that Congress would have to pass legislation declaring the insurrection to be covered under the amendment. Others say that a court could find the facts. Still others say that the last word would go to the House in voting whether or not to seat a winning candidate."

The most direct precedent comes from the post-Civil War period, when Congress passed an implementing law. But Republican resistance to labeling the events of Jan. 6 an insurrection could be a major obstacle to passing a new law; at the very least, a new law would be hard-pressed to meet the 60-vote threshold in the Senate to move to a final vote.

Leaving the decision to the courts could be an easier route, but that would take time. "It might take too long to resolve, after the inevitable appeals, to become decisive in the 2022 midterms," Kalt said.

Meanwhile, leaving it to Congress to expel someone would require a two-thirds vote, which is a heavy lift in these polarized times.

"If people were engaged in insurrection or rebellion, I think it much cleaner and better to charge them with federal crimes especially the seditious conspiracy statute that Id argue applies directly to Jan. 6," Robenalt said.

Would the events of Jan. 6 qualify as an insurrection?

Whether Jan. 6 qualifies as an insurrection is an open question.

Magliocca, a specialist in the matter, has written that the question of what constitutes an insurrection is "a point on which I have thus far been unable to find any particularly helpful authority. During the 1860s and 1870s, everyone understood that the insurrection in question was the Confederacy, and no thought was given to what other insurrections might look like."

The strongest argument for calling Jan. 6 an insurrection, Magliocca wrote, is that it "was not just a violent attack upon Congress, as bad as that would be. The mob was seeking to halt or overturn a core constitutional function at the seat of government, which can reasonably be described as an attempt to replace law with force."

Still, to prove in court that Jan. 6 amounted to an insurrection "would be a tough row to hoe," said Frank O. Bowman III, a University of Missouri law professor.

Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C., at the Capitol on May 14, 2021. (AP)

What impact could the case against Cawthorn have?

The suit that seeks to disqualify Cawthorn is a potentially significant test case for the viability of legal challenges under Section 3.

Several voters in Cawthorns district and the nonprofit group Free Speech for People cite a North Carolina law that says they may raise a "reasonable suspicion" that a candidate is legally unqualified. They will need to convince the states election board that their concerns are reasonable. If so, "the burden of proof will shift to Cawthorn who must establish, by a preponderance of the evidence, that he is eligible" to serve if elected, Magliocca and Bruce Ackerman, a Yale Law School professor, have written.

Since this is new legal territory, experts say it could be an uphill battle to prevent Cawthorn from serving. (The case is being held up temporarily as lawsuits over redistricting in the state take precedence.)

But the case could have other consequences that are problematic for Republicans, namely the discovery process and depositions. While the discovery process "might not keep him out of office, it could implicate others, and move the Jan. 6 investigation forward," said Christopher A. Cooper, a political scientist at Western Carolina University.

Its important to note, however, that the Cawthorn case is something of a legal unicorn. Thats because North Carolina, rare among states, already has a law on the books that enables plaintiffs to challenge candidacies using the Disqualification Clause.

What could the impact be for Trump?

Since Trump is a former federal official, legal experts say he is at risk for disqualification under the provision. However, it remains to be seen how closely the Houses Jan. 6 committee ties him to the events of the day. Ultimately, Trump could present "the most challenging example" for a successful disqualification, Magliocca wrote.

Trump could argue in court that hes immune from disqualification either under federal law or the laws of a particular state in which hes seeking ballot access. "The former president could argue, for instance, that what occurred at the Capitol was not an insurrection, that his role in that event does not mean that he was engaged in insurrection, or that the presidency is a unique office that is simply not covered by Section 3," Magliocca wrote.

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Unpacking the theory that the 14th Amendment could keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office in 2024 - PolitiFact

A conservative group called out Donald Trump for suggesting hed pardon Jan. 6 rioters if hes elected president again in 2024.

The new video from the Republican Accountability Project juxtaposes Trumps pardon comments with video footage of his supporters attacking the U.S. Capitol, assaulting police officers and attempting to stop the certification of the 2020 election.

The organization, run by Republicans opposed to Trump, said the spot will air nationally on Fox & Friends, a show the former president is known to watch:

Trumps pardon promise has been panned by both the left and the right.

My view is I would not be in favor of shortening any of the sentences to any of the people who pled guilty to crimes, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said this week.

If you do the crime, you do the time. You shouldnt be pardoned for that, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said at a separate event.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said Trumps remark was pretty revealing.

They go to his intent, Schiff said on MSNBC this week. If this violence against the Capitol wasnt part of the plan, or wasnt something he condoned, then why would he consider pardoning them?

For the past year, the Republican Accountability Project has been calling out the lawmakers who enabled Trump and supported the Jan. 6 insurrection, including 13 members of Congress who are featured in the groups online Hall of Shame. The organization is also looking to support primary challengers to ensure that as few of them as possible return to Congress in 2022.

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Conservative Group Exposes Trump's Latest Threat In Damning Fox News Ad - HuffPost

Former president Donald Trump and former first lady Melania Trump at a baseball game in Atlanta, Georgia, in October 2021. Elsa/Getty Images

After keeping a low profile in 2021, Melania announced in December that she would be releasing NFTs to benefit charity. She released a watercolor of her eyes painted by artist Marc-Antoine Coulon and titled "Melania's Vision,"and "The Head of State Collection" featuring the white hat she wore when French president Emmanuel Macron visited the White House in 2018.

"Through this new technology-based initiative, we will provide children computer science skills, including programming and software development, to thrive after they age out of the foster care community," she said in a statement posted to her social media in December.

The eyes NFT sold for $150 in December. In January, she held an auction for "The Head of State Collection," but received far less than anticipated, Business Insider's Bill Bostock reported.

Buyers could only bid with the Solana cryptocurrency, but its value crashed 40% while the auction was underway, Bostock reported. In all, the bids were worth $162,144, while Trump's guide price was $250,000.

Melania Trump now resides at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.

Originally posted here:

Here's what Melania, Don Jr., Ivanka, and other Trumps are doing now - Insider

GRAND RAPIDS, MI Ben Carson is the featured speaker Monday at a campaign rally for John Gibbs, a Republican endorsed by former President Donald Trump who wants to unseat Rep. Peter Meijer in the August GOP primary for Michigans 3rd Congressional District.

Doors open for the rally, being held at the Deltaplex in Walker, at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 7.

Gibbs served during the Trump administration as acting assistant secretary for community planning and development at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Carson was Secretary of HUD during Trumps presidency.

Free tickets for Mondays rally are available at votejohngibbs.com.

Dr. Carson is a very unique individual whose story serves as an inspiration to all of us as to what is possible with hard work and dedication, Gibbs, who worked at HUD from 2017 to 2021, said in a statement. I am honored to call him a friend, and humbled that he is willing to support my campaign.

Carson was appointed chief of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital at the age of 33, making him the youngest major division director in the hospitals history, according to Carsons bio on the Carson Scholars Fund website.

While at HUD, Gibbs oversaw an annual budget of $8 billion to help fight homelessness and expand economic opportunity, according to his campaign website. He was also nominated by Trump to serve as the director of the Office of Personnel Management. However, the Senate did not confirm his appointment, according to Scott Hagerstrom, a strategist whos advising Gibbs and ran Trumps Michigan campaign in 2016.

In July 2020, after Trump nominated Gibbs to serve as director of the Office of Personal Management, CNN reported that Gibbs, on the social media platform Twitter, spread a false conspiracy theory that claimed Hillary Clintons 2016 presidential campaign chairman took part in a satanic ritual.

The network also reported that Gibbs defended an anti-Semitic Twitter user who had been banned from the platform, and made derogatory comments about Islam and the Democratic Party.

Prior to serving in the Trump administration, worked as a software developer in Silicon Valley on cybersecurity products at Symantec, and on the first version of the iPhone at Apple. He is a graduate of Stanford University, where he earned a bachelors degree in computer science, and a masters degree in public administration from the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, his website shows.

Gibbs grew up in Eaton County and moved to Byron Center in October 2021, Hagerstrom said.

Several Republicans are seeking to challenge Meijer in the August primary for Michigans 3rd Congressional District seat, which includes Grand Rapids. Meijer angered Trumps base when he voted to impeach the former president following the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol.

The 3rd Congressional District, as its drawn now, includes Grand Rapids, a large portion of Kent County, part of Montcalm County, as well as Ionia, Barry and Calhoun counties. However, the once a decade redistricting process has changed the shape of the district.

The newly drawn district, in effect for this years election, includes Grand Rapids as well as the surrounding suburbs as far north as Rockford and as far south as Byron Center. It also includes the northern half of Ottawa County, including Grand Haven, Spring Lake, Allendale and Coopersville. The southern portion of Muskegon County, including the cities of Muskegon and Muskegon Heights, is included too.

Political observers say the newly drawn district is a toss up between Democrats and Republicans.

Federal Election Commission records shows Gibbs has $83,246 on hand as of Dec. 31, 2021. Meijer, on the other hand, had $1.2 million on hand. Two other Republicans, Audra Johnson and Gabriella Manolache, also are seeking Meijers seat, FEC records show.

Democrat Hillary Scholten, who was defeated by Meijer in the 2020 election, says shes again seeking the Democrat nomination to run against the winner of the Republican primary in the November election.

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Ben Carson to speak at rally for Trump-backed candidate seeking to replace Peter Meijer in Congress - MLive.com