John Wahl says plan for Republican Presidential Debate in Alabama has been in works for months
The New York Times is reporting that the fourth Republican Presidential debate will be in Tuscaloosa on December 6. Alabama Republican Party Chairman John Wahl released a statement that neither confirms nor denies that reporting but does acknowledge that planning for an RNC Presidential Debate coming to Alabama has been underway for months. “I am extremely excited that the national Republican Party is working on a debate for the state of Alabama,” said Chairman Wahl. “This has been in the works for months, and I am thrilled we are getting close. Seeing Alabama host its first-ever official presidential debate is something that has been very important to me as ALGOP Chairman, and I am incredibly thankful for Debate Committee Chairman David Bossie and RNC Chairman Ronna McDaniel for their efforts to make this happen. There is still some work to be done, but I hope this historic event can be finalized soon.” There is a whole host of Republican presidential contenders, but former President Donald J. Trump is dominating the polls and the conversation. Trump and Vivek Ramaswamy were the only two Republicans who had successfully qualified for the Alabama ballot by the close of the business day on Friday, but Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Senator Tim Scott, and others are expected to qualify by the November 10 deadline. Former Vice President Mike Pence has recently dropped out of the race. How many of those candidates will be on the debate stage for the fourth debate remains an open question. Will Trump be present, or will he continue to be a no-show at the GOP debates? Trump is the early frontrunner, but serious legal questions continue to swirl about Trump’s candidacy. Was January 6th, 2021, an “insurrection,” and if so, was Trump’s involvement consequential enough for him to be barred from running under the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution? Secondly, Trump faces over 130 indictments in four different trials – trials that some believe were timed by partisan prosecutors to take place during the 2024 primary season. If even one of those many indictments produces a guilty verdict, does that disqualify Trump from running? Would Trump, as the Republican nominee, be barred from the ballot in some states? Will GOP voters abandon Trump over these legal concerns? The third Republican presidential debate will be Thursday in Miami. NBC News host Lester Holt will be the moderator. The deadline for candidates to qualify with both major parties is 5:00 p.m. on Friday, March 10. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Chairman John Wahl votes in favor of RNC amicus brief supporting ballot access for Donald Trump
Alabama Republican Party Chairman John Wahl voted for the Republican National Committee to weigh in on recent legal challenges to keep former President Donald Trump off the 2024 ballot with an amicus brief supporting ballot access for the former President. During a specially called meeting, the RNC Executive Committee approved the motion to file an amicus brief in support of the former President in cases including Colorado and other states. Liberal groups are trying to disqualify Trump, citing the 14th Amendment grounds. The anti-Trumpers argue that his actions on Capitol Hill on January 6, 2021, amounted to staging an insurrection – which would preclude him from being a candidate for federal office. “Donald Trump has not been indicted, tried, or convicted on a charge of insurrection or rebellion,” said Wahl. “This is just another outlandish attempt by leftist groups to use our justice system for their own political agenda. I think it’s important that the Republican Party take a stand, and I am proud that the RNC is pushing back against this liberal nonsense. Democrats should be more concerned about the issues facing the people of America and how struggling families will be able to make ends meet instead of trying to misuse the 14th Amendment to disqualify their political rivals. This case is far bigger than Donald Trump; it’s about political fairness and the constitutional principles that this nation was founded on. If these organizations are allowed to succeed, the precedent would have the potential to impact all candidates and Americans for generations to come. Under the 5th Amendment, we all have the presumption of innocence, and the misuse of the 14th Amendment could completely undo that basic fundamental right. The original intent of our founding fathers is worth fighting for, and the Republican Party is committed to standing strong on this important issue.” In addition to Colorado, disqualification efforts are being mounted in numerous other states, including Minnesota, Virginia, Michigan, and Connecticut. Section 3 of the 14th Amendment says a candidate is disqualified if the person “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United States” or had “given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof,” unless granted amnesty by a two-thirds vote of Congress. This was passed immediately after the Civil War to prevent former Confederates from regaining their voting rights and ability to serve in the government. Former Vice President Mike Pence (R) spoke out against removing Trump from the race. “I always think these questions should be left to voters,” Pence said Tuesday during a Fox News Digital interview as the former vice president greeted customers at a bakery in a working-class city in New Hampshire, the state that votes second in the Republican presidential nominating calendar. Trump was recently the keynote speaker at ALGOP’s Summer Dinner fundraiser – the most successful fundraiser in ALGOP history. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
John Hendrickson: Is former Vice President Mike Pence’s view on conservatism correct?
Former Vice President Mike Pence, in a speech before the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College and in an article in The Wall Street Journal, warned Republicans and conservatives about the danger of populism. The former Vice President argues, in echoing Ronald Reagan’s 1964 address, that it is “a time for choosing” for Republicans whether to continue to follow the “siren song” of populism or return to true conservatism. It is clear that Pence is not only drawing a line in the sand and forcing a debate over conservatism, but also distancing himself from former President Donald Trump and those who support his policies. Nevertheless, Pence fails to understand that the conservative populism he is denouncing is actually rooted within the American conservative tradition. Debates within and amongst conservatives is nothing new. The conservative movement contains various “schools of intellectual thought” over what conservatism means and how conservatives should shape public policy. Vice President Pence argues that the Republican Party must return to traditional conservatism. “If we are to defeat Joe Biden and turn America around, the GOP must be the party of limited government, free enterprise, fiscal responsibility and traditional values,” wrote Pence. Pence is defining traditional conservatism based upon the principles of limited government, free enterprise, fiscal responsibility, and traditional values. Further, he correctly notes that individual “rights come from God and nature, not from the state.” In addition, Pence argues that just “like our founders, we know the imperfect nature of men and women and that granting them unlimited power imperils liberty.” This is an important pillar of conservatism, that is, that human nature is flawed because of original sin. Pence is also correct in referencing the need for conservatives to uphold and defend constitutional principles such as federalism. Conservatives would largely agree with Pence’s definition of conservatism, but he only offers a surface view of conservatism. Pence warns about the danger of populism, and he argues that this is a political tool of progressives and he references William Jennings Bryan and the “Kingfish” Huey Long as examples. Further, Pence argues that populists within the Republican Party are a threat to limited government, traditional values, and even the Constitution. Further, these Republican populists favor abandoning “American leadership on the world stage” and “embracing a posture of appeasement in the face of rising threats to freedom.” Pence’s other indictment is that Republican populists are abandoning free enterprise. Is Pence correct that populism is not only wrong, but also rooted in liberalism and progressivism and that these Republican populists are not conservative? First, Pence needs to define what policies of the Trump administration were not conservative. Pence acknowledges that the Trump administration governed as conservatives, but now Trump has abandoned conservatism. Does this mean that the Trump America First agenda was conservative according to Pence? In 2016, President Trump campaigned on what was considered to be a new approach to conservatism. He called for restrictions on immigration, building a border wall to secure the border, a restrained foreign policy, and he was highly critical of free trade and openly called for tariffs to protect manufacturing. This agenda has been referred to as America First, conservative nationalism, and conservative populism. It also fits within the framework of the paleoconservative tradition. Nevertheless, the ideas that shaped President Trump were not new, nor were they a departure from conservatism as former Vice President Pence would suggest. In fact, President Trump was rediscovering an older conservative Republican tradition. As an example, Patrick J. Buchanan wrote that “in leading Republicans away from globalism to economic nationalism, Trump is not writing a new gospel. He is leading a lost party away from a modernist heresy – back to the Old-Time Religion.” Buchanan, during the 1990s, campaigned for the Republican nomination championing similar ideas as Trump. The conservative nationalist tradition can be traced back to the American founding. Specifically, Alexander Hamilton and the Federalists. President Calvin Coolidge even credited Hamilton and the Federalists and later the Whigs as the source of the Republican Party’s heritage. Former Vice President Pence should consider the conservatism of the 1920s. Conservatives such as Presidents Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge not only challenged progressives, but their policy agenda was based on conservative nationalism. Harding and Coolidge not only supported a restrained foreign policy, but also protective tariffs and restricting immigration. They also placed an emphasis on limiting government by reducing spending, paying down the national debt, and reducing tax rates. Harding and Coolidge actually reduced government. Vice President Pence appears to be fighting against conservative nationalism and embracing the neoconservative agenda that was embraced by President George W. Bush’s administration. Neoconservatism and the Pence-style of conservatism dominated the Republican Party before Trump. What were the results: a full retreat on the cultural war and traditional values, engaging in costly wars to promote democracy, free trade agreements which led to the devastation of manufacturing, middle-class jobs, and massive trade deficits which led to the rise of China, and uncontrolled immigration. Plus, the federal government, along with the national debt, continued to grow. It was this “traditional” conservatism that idolized and worshiped at the golden alter of democracy and free trade. Is this the conservatism that we want to return to as a nation or a movement? In fact, during the first Republican presidential candidate debate Vice President Pence resembled former President George W. Bush more than President Ronald Reagan, especially in his advocacy of sending more dollars and support to Ukraine. This foreign policy approach, along with free trade, has more in common with progressives such as Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Pence’s approach to Ukraine is Wilsonian. Pence is attempting to proclaim himself as the true heir to Reagan. When examining the legacy of President Reagan too many conservatives forget that Reagan, even with all of the free market and liberty rhetoric, often practiced a restrained foreign policy and implemented trade policies that were considered protectionist. Some even argued that Reagan was the most
Judge sets date for Donald Trump trial to begin the day before Alabama presidential primary
Alabama voters will go to vote for their choice for President of the United States on March 5. The leading Republican contender, former President Donald Trump, will be in court for his criminal trial that begins on March 4. The judge in former President Trump’s Jan. 6-related federal court case announced Monday that jury selection will begin on March 4. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan declared that a trial date “cannot and should not” depend on the timetable of a defendant’s work life. Special counsel Jack Smith had wanted the trial to begin in January. Trump’s defense team had asked that, under the circumstances, the trial should be postponed until 2026. Judge Chutkan rejected that request and instead set the March 4 date – the day before the Super Tuesday primaries, which will likely determine the nominees for both major parties. Trump accused Chukan of being a “biased Trump Hating judge” who set a trial date that was “just what our corrupt government wanted.” Fulton County Prosecutor Fani Willis had asked the Chutkan to set the trial to begin on that same date. Trump faces four separate trials for 99 different indictments. This trial in federal court has to deal with his actions on January 6, 2021. Did President Trump’s efforts to overturn the Electoral College results constitute an insurrection, and did he act illegally? The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution specifically bars persons who participated in an insurrection from serving in federal office. This has to do with former members of the Confederate States of America who had taken up arms against the U.S.A. Some scholars argue that January 6 did constitute an insurrection, and this provision would apply. Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson made that argument during the first Republican Presidential Debate. Trump also faces a trial in Georgia where prosecutors claim that he and 18 associates were involved in an illegal conspiracy to overturn Georgia’s presidential election results. Trump also faces federal charges stemming from his alleged mishandling of classified documents found in his home in Mar-A-Lago, Florida. Classified documents were also found in Joe Biden’s Delaware home and Mike Pence’s home, and the issue of classified material by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. None of those people were ever charged with any crimes. Trump and his campaign are also charged with election fraud in New York City related to alleged payouts to former porn star Stormy Daniels and other women for silence about alleged illicit liaisons before Trump first ran in 2016. Trump is the first former President in the history of the United States to be indicted for a crime. At present, he faces the prospect of four separate criminal trials on up to 99 different individual counts. Additionally, he has codefendants who have been charged in each of these four rounds of indictments. Potentially, all four of these trials could take place at separate points during the coming election year. There is no evidence that all of the charges and allegations have hurt Trump in the polls. Trump remains extremely popular with Republican primary voters, but the legal jeopardy he faces have made some legal scholars question whether or not he can actually be the nominee. How the legal drama will influence voters is an unknown, given the nation has never experienced a presidential campaign like this. Many argue that some of these charges could have been brought before now. That prosecutors waited until Trump was a declared 2024 presidential candidate and then sought criminal trials amid the already established campaign calendar has led some Republicans to charge that Democrats have weaponized the courts against Trump. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Republicans hold first presidential debate – minus Donald Trump
The Republican Presidential Debate was held on Wednesday in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The debate revealed some major policy differences between the candidates. Over 80 members of the combined Shelby County, St. Clair County, and Greater Birmingham Young Republicans were present at Hoover Tactical Firearms to watch the event and eat barbecue. Former President Donald Trump was conspicuous by his absence. Former Vice President Mike Pence said that Trump asked him to violate his oath to the Constitution by invalidating the Electoral College results on January 6, 2021. Pence said that he will always follow the Constitution. Trump claimed then, and still does, that the election was “stolen.” His efforts to overturn the 2020 election results have resulted in his being indicted. The other candidates said that Pence did the right thing that day. Both former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchison and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said President Trump violated his oath of office and likely cannot run again. Hutchison cited the 14th Amendment, which prevents anyone who has led an insurgency against the United States from serving. Christie said that Trump has been indicted 99 times and that lawlessness cannot be allowed. Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy said that Trump was the greatest president of the twenty-first century. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said Republicans should move on from this issue as it only benefits Democrats. U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-South Carolina) said that he was raised in poverty by a single mother and that his success shows that the American dream is alive and well. The candidates all seemed to agree that President Joe Biden’s economic policies have led to inflation, homelessness, and a significant reduction in the quality of life of most Americans. They blamed government spending. They also agreed that Biden is in mental decline. Ramaswamy, who is 38, said that America needs a new generation of leadership to lead a new American Revolution. Pence disagreed, saying that he has been in the halls of power as a member of Congress, Governor of Indiana, and Vice President, making him the most qualified to serve as President. The United States has spent $77 billion in aid for Ukraine, and President Biden has asked for $24 billion more as it appears that Ukraine’s summer offensive has stalled. Ramaswamy objected to giving any money to Ukraine, saying he wanted to move those resources to the U.S.’s southern border. “Ukraine is not a priority for the U.S.” “We can do both at the same time,” Pence said, objecting to Ramaswamy’s isolationist foreign policy. Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley slammed Ramaswamy, saying, “You have no foreign policy experience, and it shows.” Haley said that Ramaswamy’s policies would lead to a world war. Pence agreed, saying that if Russian President Vladimir Putin is allowed to win in Ukraine, eventually, he will cross a NATO border, and the U.S. will have to send American troops to stop him. Haley said that Republicans need to tell Americans the truth and acknowledge that the GOP does not have the 60 votes required for the U.S. Senate to pass a nationwide abortion ban. Pence strongly disagreed and advocated for the passage of a nationwide abortion ban, saying that he would be a staunch defender of life as President. North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum said that he represents a very pro-Life state but agreed with Haley that abortion policy should be left to the states and there should be no nationwide ban. Christie condemned the lawlessness on the U.S. southern border. Since Biden has been president, six million migrants have entered this country. Ramaswamy wanted to put troops and military forces on the border. DeSantis said that the U.S. should use deadly force and kill migrants crossing the border illegally. Pence said in his (and Trump’s) administration, illegal border crossing decreased by 90% (and they didn’t gun anyone down). Hutchison said that his tenure as the head of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) taught him how to interdict dangerous drugs like fentanyl. Hutchison noted that there also needs to be an education component to combat fentanyl. DeSantis said that the COVID lockdowns “should never have happened.” Ramaswamy said that if he had been President during the COVID-19 pandemic, he would have fired Dr. Anthony Fauci. Scott said his mother taught him to work hard, have faith, and “if God made you a man, you compete in sports against men.” Ramaswamy called the concept of manmade global warming a “hoax” and called on the U.S. to mine for coal, drill for oil and natural gas, and adopt nuclear energy. Haley said that climate change “is real” but noted that the U.S. should be focused on getting India and China to reduce their carbon emissions rather than mandating that Americans buy electric cars where half the batteries are made in China, While the other contenders for the Presidency were on Fox News debating, Trump gave a lengthy interview to Tucker Carlson. Trump will surrender to Georgia authorities on Thursday. The Alabama presidential primary will be held on Tuesday, March 5. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Candidates pledge to support, pardon Donald Trump ahead of his arrest
Nearly all of the Republican primary candidates pledged to support former President Donald Trump during the debate Wednesday, even if he is convicted of any of his myriad legal charges. Trump is expected to be arrested in Fulton County, Georgia, Thursday over charges that he conspired to change the state’s 2020 election results. Those charges are part of the fourth indictment Trump faces, raising real concern that he could be convicted and jailed even as the frontrunner for the Republican nomination for president. “NOBODY HAS EVER FOUGHT FOR ELECTION INTEGRITY LIKE PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP,” the former president wrote on social media Wednesday. “FOR DOING SO, I WILL PROUDLY BE ARRESTED TOMORROW AFTERNOON IN GEORGIA. GOD BLESS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!!!” These are the candidates who qualified for the debate Wednesday night: When asked if they would still support Trump for president if he were convicted in one of the 91 charges he faces, all of them except Hutchinson and Christie raised their hand. Christie seemed to start to raise his hand but then changed his mind. Notably, the candidates had to pledge to support the Republican nominee as a condition of participating in the debate. Christie said he would not support Trump and ended up in a sparring match with Ramaswamy, who said the indictments were politically motivated. Christie was booed for an extended period of time and had to stop speaking. That was one of multiple tense exchanges between Ramaswamy and Christie. “I’ve had enough already tonight of a guy who sounds like ChatGPT standing up here,” Christie said of Ramaswamy earlier in the debate. Ramaswamy also called out Pence, saying he was the only candidate on stage who would pardon Trump on day one. “If people at home want to see a bunch of people blindly bashing Donald Trump without an iota of vision for this country, they can just change the channel to MSNBC right now,” Ramaswamy said. Ramaswamy asked Pence to commit to pardon Trump, but Pence gave a vague answer, saying he would give a pardon “fair consideration.” “I don’t know why you assume Donald Trump will be convicted of these crimes,” Pence said. “That is the difference between you and me. I have given pardons when I was governor of the state of Indiana. It usually follows a finding of guilt and contrition by the individual that’s been convicted.” Haley and Ramaswamy went at it during a debate over the issue of the Ukraine-Russia conflict. “You have no foreign policy experience and, you know what, it shows,” Haley said. “It shows.” Her comments came after Ramaswamy said he wished Haley well in her future career on the boards of defense companies because of her support for defense funding. DeSantis avoided much of the fighting and attacks, which largely went to Ramaswamy and whoever he was sparring with at the time. The cheers and boos bolstered and opposed different candidates throughout the night, depending on the issues and their answers. The candidates came into the debate facing an uphill battle against former President Donald Trump, who leads by a significant margin. The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll, conducted in conjunction with Noble Predictive Insights in July, found that Trump is far out ahead of his Republican competitors. The survey found that 53% of surveyed Republicans support Trump, followed by 18% supporting DeSantis. Former Vice President Mike Pence and entrepreneur and author Vivek Ramaswamy came in third and fourth place with 7% and 6% support, respectively. U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley tied for fifth place at 4% support. Trump’s legal issues risk putting him behind bars, making second place in the primary more important than ever. While Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis currently holds that spot, it remains unclear how the debate may move that needle. Republished with the permission of The Center Square.
Republican Presidential Debate set for tonight; Donald Trump not participating
The first Republican presidential debate is on Wednesday at 8:00 pm on Fox News Channel. “The Republican Party is officially kicking off the primary process in Wisconsin with the first debate and ending it in Wisconsin with the convention,” Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel said on Twitter. “We need every Wisconsin Republican to go to http://BankYourVote.co/gopchair and join the team that will Beat Biden!” Frontrunner former President Donald Trump is not participating. “New CBS POLL, just out, has me leading the field by ‘legendary’ numbers,” Trump said, explaining why he was not participating. “TRUMP 62%, 46 Points above DeSanctimonious (who is crashing like an ailing bird!), Ramaswamy 7%, Pence 5%, Scott 3%, Haley 2%, Sloppy Chris Christie 2%, “Aida” Hutchinson 1%,” Trump wrote. “The public knows who I am & what a successful Presidency I had, with Energy Independence, Strong Borders & Military, Biggest EVER Tax & Regulation Cuts, No Inflation, Strongest Economy in History, & much more. I WILL THEREFORE NOT BE DOING THE DEBATES!” Coming into the debate, polling shows that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is running in second place, followed by businessman Vivek Ramaswamy. The other candidates on the stage will be U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-South Carolina), former South Carolina Governor and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, former Vice President Mike Pence. A key issue overshadowing the normal presidential political process is the over 50 indictments against Trump. To this point, the legal controversy has benefited Trump, but will that continue? There are also concerns by some that Trump may not be able to serve if he is found guilty of participating in an insurgency. Trump supporters scoff at assertions that President Trump could be barred constitutionally and dismiss the indictments as Democrats politicizing the legal system. The Madison County Young Republicans are hosting a Republican presidential debate watch party. The debate Starts at 8 pm and ends at 10 pm. The event will be at The Best Pizzeria in Huntsville. The St. Clair County Young Republicans, the Shelby County Young Republicans, and the Greater Birmingham Young Republicans are co-hosting a debate watch party at Hoover Tactical Firearms. The event is from 6:30 – 9:30 pm, and food will be provided. Dues-paying YRs get in for free, $5 tickets for everyone else. The Republican delegates to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, will formally select the GOP nominee. Incumbent President Joe Biden appears to be the Democratic nominee, but he is being challenged by former Congressman Robert Kennedy. At present, President Biden has not agreed to any Democratic presidential debates. The Republican primary season will begin in Iowa in January. The Democratic primary season this year will start in South Carolina. The Alabama presidential primary is on March 5. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Republican Executive Committee will decide presidential delegates, not GOP voters
The Republican National Convention will be in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, next year to select the Republican nominee for President. On Saturday, the Alabama Republican Party State Executive Committee passed its Presidential Preference Primary Resolution – which details how Alabama’s presidential delegates will be allocated for the 2024 Republican Presidential Primary. Much of that remains the same. The major change is that Alabama’s Republican primary voters will still pick the candidates for President of the United States but will not get to pick the delegates pledged to that candidate. In past presidential elections, there were dozens of names on the ballot for voters to select from pledged to each presidential primary candidate. The winning delegates for the candidates with enough votes to be awarded delegates would then represent Alabama at the Republican National Convention. There won’t be any delegates for voters to vote on in the 2024 Republican primary ballot. Voters can still choose which presidential candidate they prefer: Donald Trump, Mike Pence, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, Tim Scott, Asa Hutchison, Chris Christie, etc. The roughly 475-member Republican State Executive will decide who the 50 delegates to the convention are. State Representative Matt Simpson (R-Daphne) introduced the resolution. “Delegates to the convention don’t just nominate the President. They also serve on the rules and platform committees,” Simpson said. “This is party business.” “The best people to make the decisions on how to grow up in the party is to reward the people that have been in the party,” Simpson said. “We know better than anybody who are the workers, who supported the party, who are the Republicans.” “The general public really doesn’t have a clue about the people on the ballot,” Simpson said. State Auditor Andrew Sorrell, who is also the State Executive Committee’s bylaws committee chairman, said that the delegates will still have to pledge to the candidate that they represent before the primary. Alabama will have 50 delegates at the RNC Convention in Wisconsin next year. The Chairman will be one delegate, as will the National Committeeman and the National Committeeman. Those positions are presently held by John Wahl, Paul Reynolds, and Vicki Drummond. The executive committee will then select 26 statewide at-large delegates. Alabama’s seven congressional districts will have three delegates each for a total of twenty-one delegates allocated by congressional district. The 2024 Presidential Preference Primary Resolution keeps the same delegate allotments as previous cycles. Details include the following: A candidate must receive a minimum of 20% of the vote on either the statewide or congressional district level to be awarded any delegates. The 26 statewide at-large Republican delegates will be awarded to the first-place candidate if that candidate receives over 50% of the vote in the state’s Super Tuesday primary. There will be three delegates from each of the state’s seven congressional districts, for a total of 21 delegates. The congressional district delegates will also be awarded to the first-place candidate that receives over 50% of the vote in each of the congressional districts. If no candidate receives over 50% at either the statewide or the congressional district level, the delegates will be awarded proportionally based on primary election results. The state executive committee voted 72% to 28% to approve the bylaw amendment. Since the Republican primary will be on March 5, presumably after the ALGOP’s winter meeting tentatively scheduled for February, there will likely be a special meeting of the State Executive Committee in the Spring to select the delegates. Other items passed at the Saturday meeting include: A ban on campaign donations from the National Education Association (NEA) and its affiliates – including the Alabama Education Association (AEA) – for all Republican school board and superintendent candidates. A resolution condemning President Joe Biden for circumventing the Hyde Amendment and using taxpayer money to fund abortion-related expenses and supporting Senator Tommy Tuberville for standing up to the Biden Administration over its flawed policy. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Special counsel got a search warrant for Twitter to turn over info on Donald Trump’s account, documents say
Special counsel Jack Smith’s team obtained a search warrant in January for records related to former President Donald Trump’s Twitter account, and a judge levied a $350,000 fine on the company for missing the deadline to comply, according to court documents released Wednesday. The new details were included in a ruling from the federal appeals court in Washington over a legal battle surrounding the warrant that has played out under seal for months. The court rejected Twitter’s claim that it should not have been held in contempt or sanctioned. Smith’s team repeatedly mentioned Trump’s tweets in an indictment unsealed last week that charges the former president with conspiring to subvert the will of voters and cling to power after he lost the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden. Trump, a Republican, has pleaded not guilty to charges including conspiracy to defraud the United States and obstruction of Congress’ certification of Biden’s win. He posted on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday that the Justice Department “secretly attacked” his Twitter account, and he characterized the investigation as an attempt to “infringe” on his bid to reclaim the White House in 2024. It’s unclear what information Smith may have sought from Trump’s account. Possibilities include data about when and where the posts were written, their engagement, and the identities of other accounts that reposted Trump’s content. The search warrant underscores the breadth of the investigation and the lengths Smith has gone to obtain evidence to build his case. In a recent signal that Smith’s investigation is continuing, former New York Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik met Monday with investigators from special counsel Smith’s team. Prosecutors obtained the search warrant on Jan. 17 directing Twitter to produce information on Trump’s account after a court “found probable cause to search the account for evidence of criminal offenses,” according to the ruling. The government also obtained a nondisclosure agreement that had prohibited Twitter from disclosing the search warrant, the filing says. The court found that disclosing the warrant could risk that Trump could jeopardize the ongoing investigation by giving him “an opportunity to destroy evidence, change patterns of behavior” or notify his allies, the filing says. Twitter objected to the nondisclosure agreement, saying four days after the compliance deadline that it would not produce any of the account information, according to the ruling. The judges wrote that Twitter “did not question the validity of the search warrant” but argued that the nondisclosure agreement violated its First Amendment right to communicate with Trump. Twitter said if it had to turn over the records before the judge assessed the legality of the nondisclosure agreement, it would prevent Trump “from asserting executive privilege to shield communications made using his Twitter account,” the document says. The warrant ordered Twitter to provide the records by Jan. 27. A judge found Twitter to be in contempt after a court hearing on Feb. 7, but gave the company an opportunity to hand over the documents by 5 p.m. that evening. Twitter, however, only turned over some records that day. It didn’t fully comply with the order until Feb. 9, the ruling says. X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, sent an automated reply to a request for comment, saying it would respond soon. In the broader case against Trump, his legal team has indicated it will argue that he was relying on the advice of lawyers in 2020 and had the right to challenge an election he believed was rigged. Trump used his Twitter account in the weeks leading up to his supporters’ attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to spread false statements about the election that prosecutors allege were designed to sow mistrust in the democratic process. The indictment details how Trump, over Twitter, encouraged his followers to come to Washington on Jan. 6, pressured his Vice President Mike Pence to reject the certification, and falsely suggested that the mob at the Capitol — which beat police officers and smashed windows — was peaceful. The warrant arrived at Twitter amid rapid changes instituted by Elon Musk, who purchased the platform last year. Since taking over, he’s transformed the influential site, laying off much of its staff, including workers dedicated to ferreting out misinformation and hate speech. He also eliminated Twitter’s policy on COVID-19 misinformation and welcomed back a long list of users who had been previously banned, including neo-Nazis, COVID deniers, and Trump, who was kicked off after the attack on the Capitol for glorifying violence. Trump has yet to post to the site since being allowed back on. As Trump once did, Musk has used the platform as a partisan megaphone. Last year Musk urged his many online followers to vote Republican in the midterm elections. This year he hosted Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis for a glitch-filled campaign kickoff. The election conspiracy case is the second case Smith has brought against Trump. The former president is also facing dozens of felony counts stemming from classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Trump’s legal team, in court papers Wednesday, urged the judge to allow for the reestablishment of a secure facility at Trump’s home where the former president can discuss classified evidence with his attorneys while they prepare for trial in that case. Prosecutors say Trump should only be to do so at sensitive compartmented information facilities — or SCIFs. But Trump’s lawyers say “immense practical and logistical hurdles and costs” would make traveling to government-approved locations difficult. He wants to recreate the same secure facility at Mar-a-Lago in which he was allowed to discuss classified materials as president. Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
Donald Trump tells Alabama Republicans: “They are after me because they are after you!”
Former President Donald Trump spoke to the Alabama Republican Party at their annual Summer Dinner on Friday night in Montgomery. Trump’s speech was just a day after he appeared in court to plead not guilty to charges related to the January 6 protests at the Capitol and his effort to have the election results overturned by Congress. This was Trump’s first speech in the aftermath of the latest indictment, and his tone was angry but confident in his eventual acquittal and optimistic about his return to the White House. “Eight years ago, this month, we held one of the very first rallies of the 2016 campaign – right here in Alabama,” said Trump. “Together, we launched one of the greatest political movements in the history of our country, and we are going to do it again.” Trump won the Republican primary in Alabama by a wide margin in 2016. “We love Alabama. Won it by 45 points,” Trump said. “With Alabama patriots like you, we are going to do it again, but we are going to win it bigger and better than 2016.” ” This state has been right with us from the very beginning. Kay, I have to say right from the very beginning.” “We are going to do something that is so incredible. On election day 2023, we are going to evict crooked Joe Biden from the White House. We are going to evict the criminals and thugs from the halls of power in Washington D.C., and we are going to make America great again.” “The poll numbers are the highest we have ever had, and people are very upset out there about what is going on out there,” Trump said. Trump claimed that the charges against him were the work of “deranged government agents and rogue intelligence agents.” He called the charges against him. “fake” and argued that the latest indictments “could have been filed two and a half years ago.” Trump dismissed the cases against him as “election interference” by the Democrats and the Biden Justice Department. He called prosecutor Jack Smith “deranged.” “This is an absolute case of prosecutorial misconduct.” “It is not going to make any impact because every time they file an indictment, we go way up in the polls,” Trump said. “We need one more indictment to close out this election. One more indictment and this election is closed out. Nobody has even a chance. We’ve already defeated the Republicans.” “It’s not fair, and it is probably not legal what they are doing,” the former President said. “They want to interfere in my campaign, and they want to interfere in the election.” Trump said that this is the sort of thing that they do in third-world countries. “The fake charges they put forth in their sham indictments are an outrageous criminalization of political speech. That’s all it is,” said Trump. “They are trying to make it illegal to question the results of a bad election.” Trump’s assertion that calling the 2020 election “stolen” and urging Vice President Mike Pence to reject the Electoral College results as fraudulent is political speech and thus protected by the Constitution was heavily debated on new talk shows over the weekend. CNN’s Dana Bash blasted Trump’s defense, “You can’t break the law, which is what this indictment alleges.” The country, as a whole, seemed largely unmoved by last week’s courtroom legal drama. If anyone in the room Friday night had any disagreement with his First Amendment defense, it was not apparent. Hours after his third round of indictments, Trump received the endorsements of most of Alabama’s elected Republican leaders. “If someone else was leading this banner, they would attack them as well,” Trump said. “I am being indicted for you – thanks a lot, thanks a lot.” “They want to take away my freedom because I won’t let them take away your freedom,” Trump told the crowd. “They want to silence me because I won’t let them silence you. In the end, they are after me because they are after you.” The crowd roared with approval and jumped to its feet numerous times with standing ovations. Trump was so popular in the Heart of Dixie during the last two elections that neither Hillary Clinton nor Joe Biden campaigned in the state after the primary season. Trump crushed both in the general election in Alabama – even though he lost the popular vote nationally in 2016 and 2020. U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) introduced Trump at Friday’s event. “Traveled around the state this week,” Tuberville said. “Went to the Wiregrass. Went to Mobile, Birmingham, Rainsville, Montgomery. I spoke a lot with the farmers, but everywhere I went, I never realized how big a state this is for Trump. This is Trump country.” To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Ron DeSantis steps up dire warning to GOP about distraction from Joe Biden, amid Donald Trump’s latest indictment
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is increasingly urging Republicans to avoid the temptation to refight the 2020 election next year, even as former President Donald Trump remains the dominant favorite for the 2024 GOP nomination on a message of vindicating his defeat. Though DeSantis recently cast doubt on the false theories about the 2020 election at the heart of Trump’s federal indictment, DeSantis is saying in early-voting states that any focus except on defeating Democratic President Joe Biden would be dire for his party. “If that is the choice, we are going to win, and we are going to win across the country,” DeSantis told reporters Saturday after a campaign stop in northern Iowa. “If the election is a referendum on other things that are not forward-looking, then I’m afraid Republicans will lose.” DeSantis was on the second of a two-day trip across Iowa, pressing his recent record in Florida of conservative education, abortion, and gender policy, and an equally GOP crowd-pleasing agenda for the nation. He ignited applause at a Saturday morning event in Cedar Falls promoting a balanced budget amendment, term limits for Congress and promising his audience of about 100 that he would declare a national emergency and dispatch the military to the U.S.-Mexico border upon taking office. His labor to spur the party forward stood in sharp contrast to the Trump campaign’s release of an online ad attacking Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith, who led the investigation that culminated in an indictment charging Trump with four felony counts related to his effort to reverse his 2020 election loss. The charges include conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding. Likewise, he boasted at an Alabama Republican Party fundraising dinner Friday that the indictment was a political asset. “Any time they file an indictment, we go way up in the polls,” Trump told his audience in Montgomery, Alabama. “One more indictment, and this election is closed out. Nobody has even a chance.” On Saturday night in South Carolina, Trump kept up his false characterizations of the 2020 election while also maintaining the pressure on DeSantis, a distant runner-up that he said has “gotten so low in the polls we don’t watch him anymore.” Of the new federal charges against him, Trump continued to argue that his political enemies were bringing the charges in an effort to keep him from returning to power. “Only a party that cheats at elections would make it illegal to question those elections,” Trump told more than 1,000 attendees at the state Republican Party’s 56th annual Silver Elephant Gala. “They don’t go after the people that rigged the election — they go after the people that want to find out what the hell happened.” Still, DeSantis has gone marginally further in recent days in discussing Trump’s defeat, though more typically when talking to the media after campaign events than during events with voters, many of whom remain sympathetic to Trump. During Saturday morning campaign events, he blasted “weaponization” of federal agencies, a term that resonates with Republicans sympathetic to the belief that the Justice Department has persecuted Trump. But after a stop to meet voters at a small-town restaurant, DeSantis sidestepped when asked if he would have certified the 2020 Electoral College vote as former Vice President Mike Pence did the day the pro-Trump rioters attacked and breached the Capitol. DeSantis responded that Vice President Kamala Harris does not have the power to overturn the 2024 results, which Congress made explicit by passing an act after the 2020 election that says a vice president has no role in validating a presidential election results beyond acting as a figurehead who oversees the counting process. In January 2025, “the electoral votes will be submitted, and Kamala Harris will certify. She’s not going to have the opportunity to overrule what the American people say,” he said in a brief press conference. “I don’t think that Kamala Harris has that authority.” On Friday, DeSantis, who has often pivoted away from questions about whether the 2020 election was legitimate, went a little further when asked about it, suggesting Trump’s false claim that he actually beat Biden was “unsubstantiated.” But DeSantis minced no words to his audience packed into a meeting room at a Pizza Ranch restaurant in Grinnell. “The time for excuses for Republicans is over,” he said firmly. “It’s time to get the job done.” Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
Donald Trump pleads not guilty to federal charges that he tried to overturn the 2020 election
Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Thursday to trying to overturn the results of his 2020 election loss, answering for the first time to federal charges that accuse him of orchestrating a brazen and ultimately unsuccessful attempt to block the peaceful transfer of presidential power. The former president appeared before a magistrate judge in Washington’s federal courthouse two days after being indicted by Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith. Of the three criminal cases he’s facing, the most recent charges are especially historic since they focus on Trump’s efforts as president to subvert the will of voters and obstruct the certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s victory. His refusal to accept defeat and his lies about widespread election fraud helped fuel the violent riot on Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol. Trump, who is now the early front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, sat stern-faced with his hands folded, shaking his head at times as he conferred with an attorney and occasionally glancing around the courtroom as his court appearance began. He stood up to enter his “not guilty” plea, answered perfunctory questions from the judge, and thanked her at the conclusion of the arraignment. His appearance Thursday unfolded — as will the rest of the case — in a downtown courthouse between the Capitol and the White House and in a building where more than 1,000 of the Capitol rioters have been charged by the Justice Department, which last November appointed Smith to lead a probe into the role of Trump and his allies in the events of that day. The indictment charges Trump with four felony counts related to his efforts to undo his presidential election loss, including conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding. The charges could lead to a lengthy prison sentence in the event of a conviction, with the most serious counts calling for up to 20 years. Smith himself attended the arraignment, sitting in the courtroom’s front row behind the prosecutors handling the case and about 20 feet away from Trump. He looked at times in Trump’s direction, though neither appeared to gesture at or talk to each other. U.S. Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya set the next court date for Aug. 28, when a tentative trial date will be set, and directed Trump not to communicate directly about the facts of case with any individual known to be a witness. Three police officers who defended the Capitol that day were also seen entering the courthouse. One of them, Aquilino Gonell, who retired from the Capitol Police after suffering injuries, took stock of the location’s symbolism, noting that it was “the same court in which hundreds of rioters have been sentenced. It’s the same court former President Trump is being arraigned in today for his alleged involvement before, during, and after the siege.” Trump has said he is innocent. His legal team has characterized the latest case as an attack on his right to free speech and his right to challenge an election that he believed had been stolen. He addressed the proceedings in a brief statement on a drizzly tarmac at Washington’s Reagan National Airport before he boarded his plane back to New Jersey. “This is the persecution of the person that’s leading by very, very substantial numbers in the Republican primary and leading Biden by a lot,” he said. “So if you can’t beat ‘em, you persecute ‘em, or you prosecute ’em. We can’t let this happen in America.” One early point of contention emerged Thursday when defense lawyers bristled at the idea that a trial could be rapidly scheduled. Prosecutors said they would move quickly to provide Trump’s lawyers with the information they’d need to prepare a defense, but defense attorney John Lauro said it was “somewhat absurd” that the case could be ready for trial anytime soon. “These are weighty issues. Obviously, the U.S. has had three years to investigate this matter,” Lauro said. The election theft case is part of escalating legal troubles for the ex-president, coming nearly two months after Trump pleaded not guilty to dozens of federal felony counts accusing him of hoarding classified documents at his Florida estate and thwarting government efforts to retrieve them. That case is set for trial next May. He also was charged in New York with falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment to a porn actor during the 2016 presidential campaign, a case scheduled for trial next March. And prosecutors in Fulton County, Georgia, are expected in the coming weeks to announce charging decisions in an investigation into efforts to subvert election results in that state. Thursday’s arraignment was part of a now-familiar but nonetheless stunning ritual for Trump, requiring him to hit pause on his presidential campaign and play the role of criminal defendant. He was flown by private plane from New Jersey to Washington, where his motorcade with lights and sirens made its way through the nation’s capital — a journey documented in wall-to-wall cable coverage once again. His appearance represented a relatively rare return to Washington since he left the White House. After a trip that took him through a highway tunnel and District streets, Trump lamented what he called the “filth and the decay” of the city, which he claimed was worse than when he ended his term. But that overlooks the fact that when he left office, some businesses were boarded up, and military presence in the city was ramped up in the aftermath of the insurrection sparked by his own election lies. Federal and state election officials and Trump’s own attorney general have said there is no credible evidence the election was tainted. The former president’s allegations of fraud were also roundly rejected by courts, including by judges Trump appointed. The courtroom Thursday filled with spectators who included several federal judges, including Chief District Court Judge James Boasberg — presumably there to observe the momentous event. The indictment chronicles how Trump and his Republican allies, in what Smith described as an attack on a “bedrock
