Donald Trump to appear in court before his speech in Alabama on Friday
Former President Donald Trump will speak to a packed house of over 2,200 Alabama Republicans in Montgomery on Friday. The former President, however, is scheduled to appear in a Washington, D.C. courtroom on Thursday afternoon to answer charges that he used “unlawful means” in an attempt to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election and maintain power. Trump will be arraigned on an indictment charging him with conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction; and conspiracy against the right to vote and to have one’s vote counted. He is scheduled to appear before Magistrate Judge Moxila A. Upadhyaya at the E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse around 3:00 p.m. CDT. The reaction by Alabama leaders to the news was mixed. Congressman Gary Palmer (R-AL06) released a statement slamming the latest indictments. “The latest indictment appears to be an even greater stretch of the law in an effort to destroy Donald Trump,” said Rep. Palmer. “Much of this indictment centers on statements made by President Trump on January 6th that create legal problems for the prosecution in regard to free speech. Regardless of any opinions about President Trump or his statements about the outcome of the 2020 election, President Trump’s statements are protected by the First Amendment right to free speech, especially political speech.” “As some legal experts have already pointed out, this is criminalization of disinformation and misinformation which raises serious concerns about the public’s right to speak openly in opposition to policies they oppose,” Palmer continued. “This is especially troublesome in view of the Biden Administration’s aborted attempt to establish a bureau of disinformation that many believe would have been weaponized against the political opponents of President Biden and the Democratic Party. Consequently, this indictment falls short of the criminal legal standard for charging anyone and has the appearance of indicting political speech.” Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-AL07) said that on social media that the indictment shows that no one is above the law. “Today’s indictment shows that no one is above the law,” said Rep. Sewell. “We are seeing the political process play out, and though we do not know the outcome, all parties who are involved in one of the darkest days in our nation’s history must be held accountable.” Former Congressman Mo Brooks (R-AL05), who led the floor fight in the House of Representatives to overturn the electoral college results, is more critical of the former President. Brooks said on Twitter, “In early 2022, #DonaldTrump demanded I publicly support: 1. Rescinding 2020 election. 2. Physically removing Biden from White House. 3. Putting Trump back into White House. 4. America conducting a special presidential election. ALL violate Constitution &/or federal statutes.” Brooks said, “@Mike_Pence is right. A candidate who puts self above US Constitution should NEVER be GOP nominee. When #DonaldTrump told me to support violating Constitution & federal statutes, I refused. So Trump “unendorsed” me & endorsed #KatieBritt. So be it.” Brooks lost the 2022 Republican primary runoff for U.S. Senate to first-time candidate Katie Britt – who is now Alabama’s junior Senator. Brooks shared a link to a story about former Vice President Mike Pence criticizing Trump and his legal team. This is the third round of indictments against Trump, but likely not the last. The legal woes that have already cost his campaign over $40 million have not hurt him with Republican primary voters. He is dominating Pence and his other GOP rivals in early polling. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville to introduce President Donald Trump in Montgomery on Friday
Former President Donald Trump will address the Alabama Republican Party on Friday at the ALGOP’s annual Summer Dinner event. Trump stalwart – U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville will introduce Trump at the event. Alabama Governor Kay Ivey and the entire Alabama Republican Congressional Delegation will be in attendance to welcome the former president to the State of Alabama. “I’m excited for President Trump to return to the most conservative state in the nation. Alabama is Trump Country, and we’re going to do our part to help Make America Great Again,” said Sen. Tuberville. Tuberville was the first U.S. Senator to endorse Trump when he announced his campaign to regain the presidency in 2024. “We are pleased to announce that Senator Tommy Tuberville will introduce the President at Friday night’s ALGOP Summer Dinner,” said Alabama Republican Party Chairman John Wahl. “President Trump and Senator Tuberville are two of the most popular political figures in the State of Alabama. I am looking forward to hearing from these two conservative leaders when they make their remarks.” Tuberville will join President Trump on stage Friday at the Renaissance Hotel and Convention Center. “We are pleased to have the support of our elected officials as we head into the 2024 cycle,” said Chairman Wahl. “I want to see the Alabama Republican Party united against the out-of-control policies coming out of the leftist Democrat Party and the Biden Administration. We are going to support the American dream by pushing for fiscal responsibility, keeping our communities safe, bringing down runaway inflation, and protecting our children from woke policies. This is not going to be an easy election year, and it’s all hands on deck as we get ready to take back the White House and Senate, as well as hold on to the U.S. House.” The president’s advance team landed in Alabama on Friday, and the ALGOP staff is working with them to have a successful event Friday night. The former president will be the keynote speaker at the Summer Dinner event on Friday, August 4. Over 70 media professionals from around the country have applied for credentials to attend this event, which has the attention of the entire political world. Over two thousand people are expected to attend – which would break attendance records for an ALGOP dinner. Contact the ALGOP for the limited number of tickets that are still available. This event is expected to sell out soon. “We are doing our best to accommodate everyone wanting tickets,” Wahl said. “This is an amazing opportunity to host the frontrunner for the GOP nomination and give Alabamians the chance to hear from President Trump directly about his vision for our nation.” Trump is maintaining a significant lead over Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott (R-South Carolina), former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, and the other GOP contenders. While Trump has been coasting through the first months of his campaign, he is facing an increasing number of criminal indictments. Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis is expected to announce whether or not she will charge Trump and his team in the 2020 election and its aftermath. The Alabama Presidential primary will be on March 5. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Alabama Republican Party has sold nearly all tickets to Donald Trump dinner
If you plan to see President Donald Trump when he comes to Montgomery on August 4, you need to buy those tickets today because the Alabama Republican Party reports that their dinner with Trump event is nearly sold out. “With less than ten days to go, only a few tickets remain for the Alabama Republican Party’s Summer Dinner with President Donald J. Trump,” the Alabama Republican Party announced late Tuesday in a press statement. “The response we’ve received since we announced President Trump as our keynote speaker has been overwhelming,” said Alabama Republican Party Chairman John Wahl. “We expect individual tickets to be sold out imminently, and sales for table sponsors will shut down on Friday, if not sooner.” The dinner will take place on Friday, August 4, 2023, at the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel at the Convention Center. The evening will kick off with a reception at 6 p.m. and dinner at 7 p.m. “We are excited at this opportunity to raise the profile of our state by hosting the GOP frontrunner for president and giving Alabamians the chance to interact with him,” Wahl said. “Alabama is a Super Tuesday state and will play an important role in selecting our Party’s nominee.” To purchase tickets and sponsorships, go to the Alabama Republican Party’s website. Trump previously headlined the ALGOP’s 2021 Cullman fundraiser, where more than 50,000 people braved wet conditions and mud to see the former President. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis spoke to the Alabama Republican Party in March at their Winter Dinner fundraiser. Trump was elected President in 2016, defeating former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Trump failed to win reelection in 2020, losing the presidency to former Vice President Joe Biden. Trump is seeking a Trump v. Biden rematch, but he faces a crowded Republican primary field that includes: DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, U.S. Senator Tim Scott, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, and others. Trump remains the early polling frontrunner, despite being age 77 and facing indictments in at least three courts. At this point, Biden’s only serious roadblock to the Democratic nomination is former Congressman Robert Kennedy. The Alabama Presidential Primary will be on Tuesday, March 5. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez enters crowded GOP presidential race days after Donald Trump’s indictment
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez filed paperwork Wednesday to launch his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, jumping into the crowded race just a day after GOP front-runner Donald Trump appeared in court on federal charges in Suarez’s city. The 45-year-old mayor, the only Hispanic candidate in the race, declared his candidacy with the Federal Election Commission. He had teased an announcement, noting that he would be making a “big speech” Thursday at the Reagan Library in California. Before Trump arrived at the courthouse Tuesday, Suarez toured the media encampment wearing a T-shirt with a police logo, as his city’s police force had jurisdiction over the downtown area. “If I do decide to run,” he told CNN, “it’s starting a new chapter, a new conversation of a new kind of leader who maybe looks a little different, speaks a little different, had a little bit of a different experience, but can inspire people.” Suarez, the president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, is the son of Miami’s first Cuban-born mayor. He has national attention in recent years for his efforts to lure companies to Miami, with an eye toward turning the city into a crypto hub and the next Silicon Valley. Suarez, who is vying to become the first sitting mayor elected president, joins a GOP primary fight that includes Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Despite having a candidate field in the double digits, the race is largely seen as a two-person contest between Trump and DeSantis. But the other competitors are hoping for an opening, which Trump has provided with his myriad legal vulnerabilities — none more serious than his federal indictment on charges of mishandling sensitive documents and refusing to give them back. He pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Miami federal court to 37 felony counts. Suarez has said he didn’t support Trump in either the 2016 or 2020 presidential elections, instead writing in the names of U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and then-Vice President Pence. In 2018, Suarez publicly condemned Trump after reports came out that he had questioned why the United States would accept more immigrants from Haiti and “shithole countries” in Africa. But times have changed, with Trump advisers now praising Suarez’s work and helping him promote what he calls “the Miami success story.” Trump’s former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway has even floated Suarez’s name as a possible vice presidential pick. Suarez, who is married with two young children, is a corporate and real estate attorney who previously served as a city of Miami commissioner. He has also positioned himself as someone who can help the party further connect with Hispanics. In recent months, he has made visits to early GOP voting states as he weighed a possible 2024 campaign. He is more moderate than DeSantis and Trump but has threaded the needle carefully on cultural issues that have become popular among GOP politicians. Suarez has been critical of DeSantis, dismissing some of the state laws he has signed on immigration as “headline grabbers” lacking in substance. He has said immigration is an issue that “screams for a national solution” at a time when many Republicans back hard-line policies. The two-term mayor previously expressed support for a Florida law championed by DeSantis and dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” that bans classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through third grade, but he has not specified whether he supported the expansion of the policy to all grades. Like other Republicans, Suarez has criticized DeSantis’ feud with Disney over the same law, saying it looks like a “personal vendetta.” Further ingratiating himself with the Trump team, Suarez has echoed Trump’s attacks on DeSantis’ demeanor, saying the governor doesn’t make eye contact and struggles with personal relationships with other politicians. In 2020, the mayor made a play to attract tech companies to Florida after the state relaxed its COVID-19 restrictions. He met with Big Tech players and investors such as PayPal founder Peter Thiel and tech magnate Marcelo Claure, began appearing on national television, and was profiled by magazines. Suarez, who has said he takes his salary in Bitcoin, has also hosted Bitcoin conferences and started heavily promoting a cryptocurrency project named Miami Coin, created by a group called City Coins. But the hype dissipated as virus restrictions eased elsewhere, eliminating Miami’s advantage on the COVID-19 front. Suarez’s vision also hit roadblocks with the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which was set to move its U.S. headquarters to Miami’s financial district before its founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas last December. The only cryptocurrency exchange that traded Miami Coin suspended its trading, citing liquidity problems, and not living up to its promise to generate enough money to eliminate city taxes. Miami also ranks among the worst big U.S. cities for income inequality and has one of the least affordable housing markets. Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
Donald Trump allies cite Hillary Clinton email probe to attack classified records case. There are big differences
As former President Donald Trump prepares for a momentous court appearance Tuesday on charges related to the hoarding of top-secret documents, Republican allies are amplifying, without evidence, claims that he is the target of a political prosecution. To press their case, Trump’s backers are citing the Justice Department’s decision in 2016 not to bring charges against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, his Democratic opponent in that year’s presidential race, over her handling of classified information. His supporters also are invoking a separate classified documents investigation concerning President Joe Biden to allege a two-tier system of justice that is punishing Trump, the undisputed early front-runner for the GOP’s 2024 White House nomination, for conduct that Democrats have engaged in. “Is there a different standard for a Democratic secretary of state versus a former Republican president?” said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Trump primary rival. “I think there needs to be one standard of justice in this country.” But those arguments overlook abundant factual and legal differences — chiefly relating to intent, state of mind, and deliberate acts of obstruction — that limit the value of any such comparisons. A look at the Clinton, Biden, and Trump investigations and what separates them: WHAT DID CLINTON DO? Clinton relied on a private email system for the sake of convenience during her time as the Obama administration’s top diplomat. That decision came back to haunt her when, in 2015, the intelligence agencies’ internal watchdog alerted the FBI to the presence of potentially hundreds of emails containing classified information. FBI investigators would ultimately conclude that Clinton sent and received emails containing classified information on that unclassified system, including information classified at the top-secret level. Of the roughly 30,000 emails turned over by Clinton’s representatives, the FBI has said, 110 emails in 52 email chains were found to have classified information, including some at the top-secret level. After a roughly yearlong inquiry, the FBI closed out the investigation in July 2016, finding that Clinton did not intend to break the law. The bureau reopened the inquiry months later, 11 days before the presidential election, after discovering a new batch of emails. After reviewing those communications, the FBI again opted against recommending charges. WHAT IS TRUMP ACCUSED OF DOING? The indictment filed by Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith alleges that when Trump left the White House after his term ended in January 2021, he took hundreds of classified documents with him to his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago — and then repeatedly impeded efforts by the government he once oversaw to get the records back. The material that Trump retained, prosecutors say, related to American nuclear programs, weapons and defense capabilities of the United States and foreign countries and potential vulnerabilities to an attack — information that, if exposed, could jeopardize the safety of the military and human sources. Beyond just the hoarding of documents — in locations including a bathroom, ballroom, shower and his bedroom — the Justice Department says Trump showed highly sensitive material to visitors without security clearances and obstructed the FBI by, among other things, directing a personal aide who was charged alongside him to move boxes around Mar-a-Lago to conceal them from investigators. Though Trump and his allies have claimed he could do with the documents as he pleased under the Presidential Records Act, the indictment makes short shrift of that argument and does not once reference that statute. All told, the indictment includes 37 felony counts against Trump, most under an Espionage Act statute pertaining to the willful retention of national defense information. WHAT SEPARATES THE CLINTON AND TRUMP CASES? A lot, but two important differences are in willfulness and obstruction. In an otherwise harshly critical assessment in which he condemned Clinton’s email practices as “extremely careless,” then-FBI Director James Comey announced that investigators had found no clear evidence that Clinton or her aides had intended to break laws governing classified information. As a result, he said, “no reasonable prosecutor” would move forward with a case. The relevant Espionage Act cases brought by the Justice Department over the past century, Comey said, all involved factors including efforts to obstruct justice, willful mishandling of classified documents, and indications of disloyalty to the U.S. None of those factors existed in the Clinton investigation, he said. That’s in contrast to the allegations against Trump, who prosecutors say was involved in the packing of boxes to go to Mar-a-Lago and then actively took steps to conceal classified documents from investigators. The indictment accuses him, for instance, of suggesting that a lawyer hide documents demanded by a Justice Department subpoena or falsely represent that all requested records had been turned over, even though more than 100 remained in the house. The indictment repeatedly cites Trump’s own words against him to make the case that he understood what he was doing and what the law did and did not permit him to do. It describes a July 2021 meeting at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, in which he showed off a Pentagon “plan of attack” to people without security clearances to view the material and proclaimed that “as president, I could have declassified it.” “Now I can’t, you know, but this is still a secret,” the indictment quotes him as saying. That conversation, captured by an audio recording, is likely to be a powerful piece of evidence to the extent that it undercuts Trump’s oft-repeated claims that he had declassified the documents he brought with him to Mar-a-Lago. WHERE DOES BIDEN FIT IN? The White House disclosed in January that, two months earlier, a lawyer for Biden had located what it said was a “small number” of classified documents from his time as vice president during a search of the Washington office space of Biden’s former institute. The documents were turned over to the Justice Department. Lawyers for Biden subsequently located an additional batch of classified documents at Biden’s home in Wilmington, Delaware, and the FBI found even more during a voluntary search of the property. The revelations were a humbling setback for Biden’s efforts to draw a clear contrast between his handling of sensitive information and Trump’s. Even so, as
Doug Burgum focusing on economy, energy, national security in presidential announcement
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum officially announced his bid for the Republican nomination for president on Wednesday, saying he will focus on the economy, energy, and national security. The two-term governor did not mention his competitors but centered his speech in Fargo on President Joe Biden and said, “he has to go.” “The economy needs to be the absolute top priority,” Burgum said. “Every small business owner and every family in our country is feeling the corrosive hidden tax on their lives driven by the Biden-induced inflation.” Burgum said he would focus on “innovation over-regulation.” “Regulation looks backwards. Innovation looks towards the future,” Burgum said. “The Biden administration is obsessed with creating mountains of red tape.” Energy policies in the U.S. need to change, Burgum said. “We need to stop buying energy from our energy and start selling energy to our allies,” he said. “America produces energy cleaner and safer than anywhere else in the world. If you care about the global environment, you should be fighting to have every drop of energy produced in the United States.” Burgum was first elected governor in 2016 and was reelected in 2020. He was a political unknown at the time. Burgum started a software company in the 1980s that he sold to Microsoft in 2001. Five years later, he started a real estate development firm and, later, a venture capital firm. The governor cited his upbringing in the small town of Arthur, where his family operated a grain elevator, as an example of what he hoped the country would be. “Small-town values are at the core of America, and frankly, big cities could use more ideas and more values from small towns right now,” he said. Burgum enters a crowded field for the Republican nomination, including former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Earlier this week, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Vice-President Mike Pence formally announced their intentions to run for president. Also vying for the job are radio host and commentator Larry Elder, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson. Republished with the permission of The Center Square.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie kicks off 2024 Republican presidential bid with swipes at Donald Trump
Republican former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie kicked off his presidential campaign Tuesday evening, promising to be the only candidate in a crowded GOP primary field willing to directly take on former President Donald Trump. Christie, who also ran for president in 2016, began his bid under the slogan “Because the truth matters” with a town hall in New Hampshire, which holds the nation’s first Republican primary following Iowa’s leadoff caucuses. After losing the nomination to Trump seven years ago, the former governor and federal prosecutor went on to become a close off-and-on adviser before breaking with the former president over his refusal to accept the results of the 2020 election. “Donald Trump made us smaller by dividing us even further and pitting us one against the other,” Christie said, suggesting that the former president was part of a broader political effort to “paint all Republicans with just one brush.” He added that President Joe Biden “is doing the same thing, just on the other side.” Christie enters a growing primary field that already includes Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, and U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina. Former Vice President Mike Pence will be formally launching his own campaign in Iowa on Wednesday. During his time as governor, Christie established a reputation as a fighter with a knack for creating viral moments of confrontation. But he faces an uphill battle to the nomination in a party that remains closely aligned with the former president, despite Trump’s reelection loss in 2020 and Republicans’ poorer-than-expected showing in the 2022 midterm elections. Christie has become a fierce Trump critic in recent years and is now casting himself as the only Republican presidential candidate willing to openly pick fights with the former president — while also warning that the party failing to fully confront him will spark a repeat of the 2016 GOP primary, when Trump rolled over a host of alternatives with more political experience who split the support of voters opposing him. Anti-Trump Republicans are particularly eager to see Christie spar with Trump on a debate stage — if, of course, Trump agrees to participate in primary debates and Christie meets the stringent fundraising criteria set by the Republican National Committee for participation. JP Marzullo, a former state representative and former vice chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party, previously backed Trump but is now supporting Christie. “I think he’ll actually unite some of the voters, and he’ll get to independents,” Marzullo said of the former governor, adding, “I think it’s time for a change.” Christie’s campaign will test the appetite among Republican voters for someone who has expressed support for many of Trump’s policies but has criticized the former president’s conduct. The former governor has rejected Trump’s lies that the 2020 election was stolen and has urged the party to move on or risk future losses. Other Republicans with similar views, including former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, have opted against their own campaigns, expressing concerns that having more candidates in the race will only benefit Trump. Christie was at one point seen as one of the Republican Party’s brightest political stars as the popular Republican governor of a Democratic state. But despite persistent urging from top donors and party officials, he declined to run for president in 2012. By the time he announced in 2016, his reputation had been tarnished by the “Bridgegate” scandal in which aides were accused of wreaking traffic havoc in Fort Lee, New Jersey, in an apparent effort to punish the city’s mayor for failing to endorse his reelection bid. In the packed 2016 GOP primary, Christie portrayed himself as a brash, tough-talking East Coaster who could “tell it like it is” — only to be eclipsed by the brasher Trump. Christie opting to start his 2024 bid at a New Hampshire town hall recalled his first run at the White House, when he focused on the state, holding dozens of New Hampshire town hall events only to finish sixth in its primary. He dropped out of that race afterward. Two weeks later, Christie stunned even some former aides when he endorsed Trump, becoming the first sitting governor and former rival to get behind the emerging GOP front-runner. His announcement undercut rival Marco Rubio at a crucial moment — the day after a debate that had been seen as a possible turning point in the race — helping to pave the way for Trump’s nomination and eventual win. “The line of supporting Donald Trump starts behind me,” Christie has said. The former governor, who has known Trump for nearly 20 years, has had a complicated friendship with the former developer and reality TV star. At times, he was one of Trump’s closest advisers: He was on the shortlist to serve as Trump’s vice president, oversaw Trump’s early White House transition efforts, said he was offered — and turned down — multiple Cabinet positions, and helped Trump prepare for each of his general election debates in 2016 and 2020. (It was during those debate preparations that Christie believes he caught COVID-19, landing him in intensive care.) But Christie also clashed with Trump at times and has described the former president’s refusal to accept his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden as a breaking point. In appearances and interviews, Christie says he was “incredibly disappointed and disillusioned” by Trump’s refusal to concede, which culminated in his followers’ violent storming of the Capitol on January 6 in an effort to halt the certification of Biden’s win. Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
Former VP Mike Pence files paperwork launching 2024 presidential bid in challenge to Donald Trump
Former Vice President Mike Pence filed paperwork on Monday declaring his campaign for president in 2024, setting up a challenge to his former boss, Donald Trump, just two years after their time in the White House ended with an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and Pence fleeing for his life. Pence, the nation’s 48th vice president, will formally launch his bid for the Republican nomination with a video and kickoff event in Des Moines, Iowa, on Wednesday, which is his 64th birthday, according to people familiar with his plans. He made his candidacy official Monday with the Federal Election Commission. While Trump is currently leading the early fight for the nomination, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis polling consistently in second, Pence supporters see a lane for a reliable conservative who espouses many of the previous administration’s policies but without the constant tumult. While he frequently lauds the accomplishments of the “Trump-Pence administration,” a Pence nomination, in many ways, would be a return to positions long associated with the Republican establishment but abandoned as Trump reshaped the party in his image. Pence has warned against the growing populist tide in the party, and advisers see him as the only traditional, Reagan-style conservative in the race. A staunch opponent of abortion rights, Pence supports a national ban on the procedure and has campaigned against transgender-affirming policies in schools. He has argued that changes to Social Security and Medicare, like raising the age for qualification, should be on the table to keep the programs solvent — which both Trump and DeSantis have opposed — and criticized DeSantis for his escalating feud with Disney. He also has said the U.S. should offer more support to Ukraine against Russian aggression while admonishing “Putin apologists” in the party unwilling to stand up to the Russian leader. Pence, who describes himself as “a Christian, a conservative, and a Republican, in that order,” has spent months laying the groundwork for an expected run, holding events in early-voting states like Iowa, South Carolina, and New Hampshire, visiting churches, delivering policy speeches and courting donors. Pence’s team sees Iowa and its evangelical Christian voters as critical to his potential path to victory. Advisers say he plans to campaign aggressively in the state, hitting every one of its 99 counties before its first-in-the-nation caucuses next year. The campaign is expected to lean heavily on town halls and retail stops aimed at reintroducing Pence to voters who only know him from his time as Trump’s second-in-command. Pence served for more than a decade in Congress and as Indiana’s governor before he was tapped as Trump’s running mate in 2016. As vice president, Pence had been an exceeding loyal defender of Trump until the days leading up to January 6, 2021, when Trump falsely tried to convince Pence and his supporters that Pence had the power to unilaterally overturn the results of the 2020 election. That day, a mob of Trump’s supporters violently stormed the U.S. Capitol building after being spurred on by Trump’s lies that the 2020 election had been stolen. Many in the crowd chanted, “Hang Mike Pence!” as Pence, his staff, and his family ran for safety, hiding in a Senate loading dock. Pence has called Trump’s actions dangerous and said the country is looking for a new brand of leadership in the 2024 election. “I think we’ll have better choices,” he recently told The Associated Press. “The American people want us to return to the policies of the Trump-Pence administration, but I think they want to see leadership that reflects more of the character of the American people.” Pence has spent the 2 1/2 years since then strategically distancing himself from Trump. But he faces skepticism from both anti-Trump voters who see him as too close to the former president, as well as Trump loyalists, many of whom still blame him for failing to heed Trump’s demands to overturn the pair’s election defeat, even though Pence’s role overseeing the counting of the Electoral College vote was purely ceremonial and he never had the power to impact the results. Pence joins a crowded Republican field that includes Trump, DeSantis, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, U.S. Sen Tim Scott of South Carolina, tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie plans to launch his own campaign Tuesday evening in New Hampshire, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum will announce his bid Wednesday in Fargo. With Trump, a thrice-married reality star, facing skepticism among some Republicans during his 2016 run, his pick of Pence as a running mate assuaged concerns from evangelical Christians and others that he wasn’t sufficiently conservative. As vice president, Pence refused to ever criticize the former president publicly and often played the role of emissary, trying to translate Trump’s unorthodox rhetoric and policy proclamations, particularly on the world stage. After Trump’s legal efforts to stave off defeat of the 2020 election were quashed by courts and state officials, he and his team zeroed in on January 6, the date that a joint session of Congress would meet to formally certify President Joe Biden’s victory. In the weeks leading up to the session, Trump engaged in an unprecedented pressure campaign to convince Pence he had the power to throw out the electoral votes from battleground states won by Biden, even though he did not. As the riot was underway and after Pence and his family were rushed off the Senate floor and into hiding, Trump tweeted, “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done.” Video footage of the attack shows rioters reading Trump’s words aloud and crowds breaking into chants that Pence should be hanged. A makeshift gallows was photographed outside the Capitol. Pence has said that Trump “endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day” and that history will hold him accountable. Despite his harrowing experience, Pence opposed efforts to testify in investigations into Trump’s actions on and in the lead-up to Jan. 6. He refused to appear before the House committee investigating
Steve Flowers: The presidential race has begun
The presidential race has begun, and rightly so, because 2024 is just around the corner. The early primaries are less than ten months away. We in Alabama have an early Presidential Primary exactly 11 months from now, on March 5, 2023. Actually, the Republican challengers are slow getting out of the gate. The obvious elephant in the room is the looming presence of one Donald Trump. He seems intent on running. His ego will not allow him to read the tea leaves, as well as every scientific poll, which tells him that he is yesterday’s news and that over 75% of American voters detest him, and he cannot defeat anyone in a presidential race. In fact, polling reveals that any Democrat or foreign dictator would beat him by landslide proportions by a much larger margin than the overwhelming defeat he received from the listless, almost lifeless Joe Biden in 2020. The problem for Republicans is that Trump is sitting there with a hardcore 30% base of Republican voters. Therefore, if six or more substantial Republican presidential entrants get into the battle for the nomination and they average getting 12% of the GOP Primary votes, then Trump could prevail with his 30% base, thus giving him the nomination and ultimate electoral disaster for Republicans. They would lose the presidential contest so badly that it would take down a host of Republican congressional seats. Republicans would suffer dramatically from the negative Trump coattail effect. Republicans would most certainly lose their slim margin in the House of Representatives but would also lose precious seats in the U.S. Senate. The Republican Party strategists and insiders are keenly aware of the Trump debacle scenario and are rallying around Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Rank-and-file GOP Primary voters are flocking to him in droves. If the money is there to offset the Trump machine and gutter attacks that come with it, DeSantis will probably prevail. The reluctance of other major GOP candidates getting into the fray is a sign that the conservatives in the country are working behind the scenes to orchestrate and discourage “also ran” candidates from getting into the race, which would give DeSantis a clear undeterred victory to face Joe Biden in November. Minor candidates like Mike Pence and Nikki Haley will run, but polling shows them with a 3% threshold. Haley is probably angling to be DeSantis’ Vice Presidential choice. Ron DeSantis will probably be the Republican nominee and face Joe Biden in Fall 2024. Make no mistake about it. Joe Biden will be the Democratic nominee. It is far too late in the nominating process for a Democratic challenger to get into the race against an incumbent President. Therefore, Biden will skate to the nomination of his party without taxing his diminished stamina. In fact, his handlers will probably keep him out of sight during the entire campaign, which is a tried and true effective campaign strategy to elect ole Joe Biden. President Joe Biden’s age is his biggest albatross toward reelection. Even Democratic voters, who tend to be younger, are concerned by it. His demeanor and gait accentuate his diminished capacity and advanced age. Indeed, 82 is a pretty advanced age to be in the Oval Office. However, if you watched his February State of the Union Address, his performance dispelled naysayers. His delivery, appearance, and lucidness were on par with any 60-year-old President. I have seen quite a few State of the Union speeches of sitting presidents, and his performance was one of the most brilliant and well-delivered I have seen. It was shocking and amazing. Forty million Americans were watching, not to hear what he had to say but how he said it. Most Americans were looking for a stumbling, tongue-wagging, incognizant old Uncle Joe. Instead, he was on script, lucid, and glib who came off script and handled heckling from right-wing, backbench Republicans with aplomb. He deviated from the teleprompter with candid, sincere comments. He made a brilliant opening campaign appearance which will resonate with voters throughout the campaign when he is described as a doddering old fool who should be in a nursing home. He has also been in politics long enough to know to trust his handlers and stay away from voters and just parrot the old line, liberal Democratic talking points that say Republicans are against Social Security, which by the way, is the most demagogic liberal lie ever espoused. Republicans are not for cutting Social Security. Most of their voters would starve to death. If indeed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is the Republican nominee, it will be a close presential race in November 2024, which is not that far away. See you next week. Steve Flowers is Alabama’s leading political columnist. His weekly column appears in over 60 Alabama newspapers. He served 16 years in the state legislature. Steve may be reached at www.steveflowers.us.
Ex-Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson launches GOP 2024 bid, calls on Donald Trump to drop out
Asa Hutchinson, who spent two terms as governor of Arkansas, will seek the Republican presidential nomination, positioning himself as an alternative to Donald Trump just days after the former president was indicted by a grand jury in New York. In an interview that aired Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” Hutchinson said Trump should drop out of the race, arguing “the office is more important than any individual person.” “I’m running because I believe that I am the right time for America, the right candidate for our country and its future,” he said. “I’m convinced that people want leaders that appeal to the best of America and not simply appeal to our worst instincts.” Hutchinson is the first Republican to announce a campaign after Trump became the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges. His candidacy will test the GOP’s appetite for those who speak out against Trump. Others who have criticized Trump, including former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, have opted against a campaign, sensing the difficulty of prevailing in a primary. And in a sign of Trump’s continued grip on the Republican base, most in the party — even those considering challenging him for the nomination — have defended him against the New York indictment. That, at least for now, leaves Hutchinson as a distinct outlier among Republicans. In addition to Trump, Hutchinson joins a Republican field that also includes former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to jump into the race in the summer, while U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and former Vice President Mike Pence are among those considering bids. Hutchinson, 72, left office in January after eight years as governor. He has ramped up his criticism of the former president in recent months, calling another Trump presidential nomination the “worst scenario” for Republicans and saying it will likely benefit President Joe Biden’s chances in 2024. The former governor, who was term-limited, has been a fixture in Arkansas politics since the 1980s when the state was predominantly Democratic. A former congressman, he was one of the House managers prosecuting the impeachment case against President Bill Clinton. Hutchinson served as President George W. Bush’s head of the Drug Enforcement Administration and was an undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security. As governor, Hutchinson championed a series of income tax cuts as the state’s budget surpluses grew. He signed several abortion restrictions into law, including a ban on the procedure that took effect when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade last year. Hutchinson, however, has said he regretted that the measure did not include exceptions for rape or incest. Hutchinson earned the ire of Trump and social conservatives last year when he vetoed legislation banning gender-affirming medical care for children. Arkansas’ majority-Republican Legislature overrode Hutchinson’s veto and enacted the ban, which has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge. Trump called Hutchinson a “RINO” — a Republican In Name Only — for the veto. Hutchinson’s successor, former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, has said she would have signed the legislation. Hutchinson, who signed other restrictions on transgender youth into law, said the Arkansas ban went too far and that he would have signed the measure if it had focused only on surgery. Hutchinson endorsed Sanders’ bid for governor. Sanders hasn’t publicly endorsed Trump or anyone else yet in the 2024 presidential race. She has avoided direct criticism of her predecessor, even as she split from him on several policies. Among the bills she’s signed since taking office is legislation intended to reinstate the ban on gender-affirming care for minors that Hutchinson opposed by making it easier to sue providers of such care. She’s also dissolved five panels Hutchinson had formed to advise him on the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, saying she wanted the state to focus on other health challenges. Although he has supported Trump’s policies, Hutchinson has become increasingly critical of the former president’s rhetoric and lies about the 2020 presidential election. He said Trump’s call to terminate parts of the Constitution to overturn the election hurt the country. Hutchinson also criticized Trump for meeting with white nationalist leader Nick Fuentes and the rapper Ye, who has praised Adolf Hitler and spewed antisemitic conspiracy theories. Hutchinson has contrasted that meeting to his own background as a U.S. attorney who prosecuted white supremacists in Arkansas in the 1980s. An opponent of the federal health care law, Hutchinson, after taking office, supported keeping Arkansas’ version of Medicaid expansion. But he championed a work requirement for the law that was blocked by a federal judge. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Hutchinson tried to push back against misinformation about the virus with daily news conferences and a series of town halls he held around the state aimed at encouraging people to get vaccinated. Hutchinson infuriated death penalty opponents in 2017 when he ordered eight executions over a two-week period, scheduling them before one of the state’s lethal injection drugs was set to expire. The state ultimately carried out four of the executions. The former governor is known more for talking policy than for fiery speeches, often flanked by charts and graphs at his news conferences at the state Capitol. Instead of picking fights on Twitter, he tweets out Bible verses every Sunday morning. Hutchinson, who graduated from the evangelical college Bob Jones University in South Carolina, said in the ABC interview that he considers himself part of the evangelical community. “I believe that the evangelical community understands that we need to have a leader that can distance themselves from some of the bad instincts that drive Mr. Trump,” he said. “And I hope that we can do that in the future.” Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
Judge rules Mike Pence must testify before grand jury
A federal judge has ruled that former Vice President Mike Pence will have to testify before a grand jury in the Justice Department’s investigation into efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election. That’s according to two people familiar with the decision, who spoke Tuesday on condition of anonymity because the ruling remains under seal. The ruling says Pence will not have to answer questions about his actions on January 6, 2021, when a mob of Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol building as Republican Pence was presiding over a joint session of Congress to certify Democrat Joe Biden’s victory. However, he would have to testify about any potential illegal acts committed by the former president, one of the people said. Pence and his attorneys had cited constitutional grounds in challenging a grand jury subpoena issued weeks ago. They argued that because he was serving in his capacity as president of the Senate that day, he was protected from being forced to testify under the Constitution’s “speech or debate” clause, which is intended to protect members of Congress from questioning about official legislative acts. Trump’s lawyers had also objected to Pence complying, citing executive privilege. A Trump spokesman criticized the decision in a statement, accusing the Justice Department of “continuously stepping far outside the standard norms in attempting to destroy the long accepted, long-held, constitutionally based standards of attorney-client privilege and executive privilege.” “There is no factual or legal basis or substance to any case against President Trump,” they added but did not respond to questions about how Trump’s legal team might respond. Pence’s team is evaluating whether it will appeal. The sealed ruling from U.S. District Judge James “Jeb” Boasberg sets up the unprecedented scenario of a former vice president being compelled to give potentially damaging testimony against the president he once served. And it comes as Pence has been inching closer to announcing a run for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination — a decision that would put him in direct competition with his former boss. In addition to the Justice Department probes, Trump is under investigation in Georgia and also in New York, where a grand jury has been hearing testimony about hush money paid to women on Trump’s behalf during the 2016 campaign. That grand jury will not take up the inquiry again this week, two people familiar with the matter said Tuesday, meaning any potential vote on a possible indictment will not happen until next week at the earliest. In Washington, Pence was subpoenaed earlier this year to appear before the federal grand jury investigating election interference. In public appearances, he has cast that action as unconstitutional and unprecedented and has said he would pursue the matter as far as the Supreme Court. Still, he told ABC’s “This Week” that he might be open to testifying about matters not directly related to his congressional role. “I’ve actually never asserted that other matters unrelated to January 6 would otherwise be protected by speech and debate,” he told the network. “We’re gonna make that case, but I promise you we’ll respect the decisions of the court.” A Justice Department special counsel, Jack Smith, is investigating attempts by Trump and his allies to overturn Biden’s win in the 2020 presidential election to keep Trump in the White House. Multiple Trump aides have already appeared before the federal grand jury, as well as the separate Georgia panel examining allegations of Trump mishandling classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. A spokesman for the special counsel’s office declined to comment. A lawyer for Pence did not return messages seeking comment. Pence has spoken extensively about Trump’s pressure campaign urging him to reject Biden’s victory in the days leading up to January 6, including in his book, “So Help Me God.” Pence, as vice president, had a ceremonial role overseeing the counting of the Electoral College vote, but did not have the power to impact the results despite Trump’s contention otherwise. Pence has said that Trump endangered his family and everyone else who was at the Capitol that day, and history will hold him “accountable.” In addition to the DOJ probes, Trump is also under investigation in Georgia and in New York, where a grand jury has been hearing testimony about hush money paid to women on Trump’s behalf during the 2016 campaign. The grand jury will not take up the inquiry again this week, two people familiar with the matter said Tuesday, meaning any potential vote on a possible indictment will not happen until next week, at the earliest. Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
Donald Trump can be sued for January 6 riot harm, Justice Dept. says
Former President Donald Trump can be sued by injured Capitol Police officers and Democratic lawmakers over the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, the Justice Department said Thursday in a federal court case testing Trump’s legal vulnerability for his speech before the riot. The Justice Department told a Washington federal appeals court in a legal filing that it should allow the lawsuits to move forward, rejecting Trump’s argument that he is immune from the claims. The department said it takes no position on the lawsuits’ claims that the former president’s words incited the attack on the Capitol. Nevertheless, Justice lawyers told the court that a president would not be protected by “absolute immunity” if his words were found to have been an “incitement of imminent private violence.” “As the Nation’s leader and head of state, the President has ‘an extraordinary power to speak to his fellow citizens and on their behalf,’” they wrote. “But that traditional function is one of public communication and persuasion, not incitement of imminent private violence.” The brief was filed by lawyers of the Justice Department’s Civil Division and has no bearing on a separate criminal investigation by a department special counsel into whether Trump can be criminally charged over efforts to undo President Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election ahead of the Capitol riot. In fact, the lawyers note that they are not taking a position with respect to potential criminal liability for Trump or anyone else. Trump’s lawyers have argued he was acting within the bounds of his official duties and had no intention to spark violence when he called on thousands of supporters to “march to the Capitol” and “fight like hell” before the riot erupted. “The actions of rioters do not strip President Trump of immunity,” his lawyers wrote in court papers. “In the run-up to January 6 and on the day itself, President Trump was acting well within the scope of ordinary presidential action when he engaged in open discussion and debate about the integrity of the 2020 election.” A Trump spokesperson said Thursday that the president “repeatedly called for peace, patriotism, and respect for our men and women of law enforcement” on January 6 and that the courts “should rule in favor of President Trump in short order and dismiss these frivolous lawsuits.” The case is among many legal woes facing Trump as he mounts another bid for the White House in 2024. A prosecutor in Georgia has been investigating whether Trump and his allies broke the law as they tried to overturn his election defeat in that state. Trump is also under federal criminal investigation over top secret documents found at his Florida estate. In the separate investigation into Trump and his allies’ efforts to keep the Republican president in power, special counsel Jack Smith has subpoenaed former Vice President Mike Pence, who has said he will fight the subpoena. Trump is appealing a decision by a federal judge in Washington, who last year rejected efforts by the former president to toss out the conspiracy civil lawsuits filed by the lawmakers and police officers. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Trump’s words during a rally before the violent storming of the U.S. Capitol were likely “words of incitement not protected by the First Amendment.” “Only in the most extraordinary circumstances could a court not recognize that the First Amendment protects a President’s speech,” Mehta wrote in his February 2022 ruling. “But the court believes this is that case.” One of the lawsuits, filed by Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., alleges that “Trump directly incited the violence at the Capitol that followed and then watched approvingly as the building was overrun.” Two other lawsuits were also filed, one by other House Democrats and another by officers James Blassingame and Sidney Hemby. The House Democrats’ lawsuit cites a federal civil rights law that was enacted to counter the Ku Klux Klan’s intimidation of officials. The cases describe in detail how Trump and others spread baseless claims of election fraud, both before and after the 2020 presidential election was declared, and charge that they helped to rile up the thousands of rioters before they stormed the Capitol. The lawsuits seek damages for the physical and emotional injuries the plaintiffs sustained during the insurrection. Even if the appeals court agrees that Trump can be sued, those who brought the lawsuit still face an uphill battle. They would need to show there was more than fiery rhetoric, but a direct and intentional call for imminent violence, said Laurie Levenson, a Loyola Law School professor, and former federal prosecutor. “We are really far away from knowing that even if the court allows the lawsuit to go forward, whether they would be successful,” she said. “Even if the court says hypothetically you can bring an action against a president, I think they’re likely to draw a line that is very generous to the president’s protected conduct.” In its filing, the Justice Department cautioned that the “court must take care not to adopt rules that would unduly chill legitimate presidential communication” or saddle a president with burdensome and intrusive lawsuits. “In exercising their traditional communicative functions, Presidents routinely address controversial issues that are the subject of passionate feelings,” the department wrote. “Presidents may at times use strong rhetoric. And some who hear that rhetoric may overreact, or even respond with violence.” Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
