Trump and his co-defendants should be worried There’s a lot going on in the world and here at home at the moment so it’s not surprising that Donald Trump and his legal problems aren’t front and center in our political coverage. Trump himself is very upset by this, lamenting on Truth Social earlier this week that he’s forced to appear at the Courthouse in New York where his fraud trial is being held (he isn’t) and complaining that nobody’s paying attention to him, posting, “despite my being here, the talk is all about Biden getting ready to fly to the Middle East…” But even though nobody is paying close attention to all his troubles at the moment, there is quite a bit of news on the Trump legal front and some of it may have some very unpleasant consequences for the former president. The fraud trial is not going particularly well for him with his CFO possibly having committed perjury on the stand which could mean his plea deal with the Manhattan Disctrict Attorney in the Trump Organization case is in danger. Weisselberg went to jail for five months in that case but could easily see more time if that’s proven.
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What’s happening in the House is taking us over the cliff This post by Lee Drutman says it all: The US House is now in uncharted territory. Yes, you probably know this from following the ongoing drama over the vacated House speakership. As of this writing, we are now 17 days into this manufactured crisis. But how uncharted? And if we’re off the map, where are we headed? And are we off to “There be dragons” land? (Possibly, yes) In the pixels ahead, I’ll visually map where we are. As we’ll see, there are some historic parallels. But not enough to feel like we’ve really been here before. Here’s what’s distinct about this moment, based on the best metrics we have.
The “adults” in the room unfortunately keep spitting up their formula And listen to this hopeless drivel: Raju: You think this looks good? pic.twitter.com/K7R7GfVmXO — Acyn (@Acyn) October 20, 2023 Raju: How does it make the Republican party look? Scott: I think it makes congress as a whole look very bad… The Democrats are not innocent in this. They’re not. Raju: Matt Gaetz and the Republicans started this. pic.twitter.com/VcdbGDhv2f — Acyn (@Acyn) October 20, 2023 They actually think people are going to believe that the Democrats should have saved the man who opented a bogus impeachment inquiry against Joe Biden and eagerly licks Trump’s boots every chance he gets (not to mention the years and years of grotesque lying and derision) from their own right wing freaks? Really? They believe this? It would be nice is once, the reporters wouold ask them point blank why they believe the Democrats should have saved the Republican speaker from right wing Republicans. How would they explain that?
The wives of Republican congressmen aren’t the only ones MAGA is targeting with threats and intimidation We already knew they liked to go after cops. But going after their families is a new frontier: The federal prosecutors who have brought charges against hundreds of Jan. 6 rioters are seeing an uptick in violent threats and harassment directed toward their office, the office’s lead prosecutor told congressional investigators. Matthew Graves, the U.S. attorney for Washington, said the threats come from around the country and have become “pervasive,” though he did not elaborate on their substance or whether any law enforcement agency is investigating them. Graves’ comments, documented in a transcript obtained by POLITICO, came in a closed-door interview on Oct. 3 with the House Judiciary Committee about the Hunter Biden probe. In the interview, Republican investigators pressed Graves on allegations that his office refused to assist the U.S. attorney in Delaware who is leading the probe into the president’s son. Graves declined to answer some of the investigators’ questions about his personnel, citing threats to his office.
The judge in the NY case is big mad: The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s bank fraud trial threatened to throw the former president in jail—and hit him with punishing fines—for “blatantly” violating a gag order by refusing to delete a website post attacking court staff. Justice Arthur F. Engoron, striking a serious tone, began Friday at trial by laying out the high stakes and demanding that Trump’s lawyers explain themselves. “In the current overheated climate, incendiary comments can and in some cases already has, led to serious physical harm and worse. I will now allow the defendants to explain why this blatant violation of the gag order would not result in serious sanctions, including financial sanctions and/or possibly imprisoning him,” Engoron said. The case that Engoron is presiding over—Trump’s New York bank fraud trial—is a civil matter, meaning jail time wasn’t ever supposed to be in the cards, only stiff fines and a threat to ruin his real estate empire. But now, Trump appears to be facing a very real threat of spending time in jail if his antics continue.
Baby Sloth! In the birdhouse of Schönbrunn Zoo, sloths are undoubtedly the big favorites among the audience. Those who visit them tomorrow, on the occasion of Sloth Day, will experience a small furry surprise. “For the 13th time, we have had offspring among our sloths. A young one was born on August 20th. Initially, it was hidden in the protective fur of the mother, but by now, you can observe the little one well,” announces Simone Haderthauer, zoological department head, with joy. The young one lies on its mother like in a hammock. It will only start hanging independently on branches at about six months old. Sloth Day was established in 2010 to draw attention to these amazing animals and their habitat. Haderthauer says, “Two-toed sloths spend their lives hanging upside down in trees. Although they are not currently considered threatened, their habitat is steadily shrinking due to the ongoing deforestation of rainforests in South America.” Sloths’ main diet consists of leaves and buds. They spend much of their day dozing to save energy.
If Antifa is anti-fascist…. “Weird how this keeps happening and it keeps being Republicans,” Brian Beutler tweeted this morning on X in reference to Douglass Mackey (Politico): A right-wing social media influencer was sentenced to seven months in federal prison on Wednesday for spreading falsehoods via Twitter, now known as X, in an effort to suppress Democratic turnout in the 2016 presidential election. Douglass Mackey, who posted under the alias Ricky Vaughn, was convicted in March of the charge of conspiracy against rights after a trial in federal court in Brooklyn. Prosecutors said Mackey, who had 58,000 Twitter followers, conspired with others between September and November of 2016 to post falsely that supporters of Democrat Hillary Clinton could vote for her by text message or social media post. For example, they said, Mackey tweeted a photo of a woman standing in front of an “African Americans for Hillary” sign. “Avoid the Line. Vote from Home,” the tweet said.
Republicans are underwater A lot of polling these days is crap. Presidential horse-race polls, especially. That doesn’t keep them from drawing eyeballs like Bat Boy pics at the checkout counter. Morning Consult has another this morning sure to provoke anxiety. Trump leads Biden in key swing states, per our survey with @business: AZBiden: 43%Trump: 47% GABiden: 43%Trump: 48% MIBiden: 44%Trump: 44% NVBiden: 46%Trump: 43% NCBiden: 43%Trump: 47% PABiden: 45%Trump: 46% WIBiden: 44%Trump: 46%https://t.co/ht2f2Sk2Wq pic.twitter.com/kAceURs9fv — Morning Consult (@MorningConsult) October 19, 2023 But so does Navigator. While presidential polling a full year out from November 2024 suggests another close election, Navigator reports the Republican brand is suffering: From the newsletter: Seven in ten Americans disapprove of the way Republicans in Congress are handling their jobs, as favorability for prominent Republicans is underwater. For the first time, Republicans hold a net negative view of Republicans in Congress (net -4; 45 percent approve – 49 percent disapprove; a net negative 23-point shift since early September).
Fox News' John Roberts: If Democrats were in the majority, how long would it take Hakeem Jeffries to get to 218 votes? Jason Chaffetz: "Well, Hakeem Jeffries has now lost 17 races in a row. So 17 times in a row, he's been put up for Speaker and he's lost." pic.twitter.com/a6xlkCd7sp — Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) October 19, 2023 It’ doesn’t get any more asinine than that. Oh wait: Scott: Democrats knew what they were doing when they took McCarthy out of the Speakership Keilar: They didn’t take him out. Scott: Sure they did Keilar: You guys are in the majority. pic.twitter.com/lR71iYbSzQ — Acyn (@Acyn) October 18, 2023
This is what happens when the monster you created turns on you: In the closed-door meeting, several GOP members urged Rep. Jim Jordan to drop his bid for the speakership, but he is resisting those calls, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Jordan, who sources say scrapped a third vote today after failing to get enough to win the speakership in his first two ballots, is is now leaning toward backing a resolution to expand interim Speaker Patrick McHenry’s powers, sources said, but he wants to see how today’s House GOP conference meeting goes. Here’s how it went: A closed-door meeting of the House GOP Conference turned heated today, multiple sources tell CNN, a further sign of chaos as Republicans struggle to elect a speaker. At one point, Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, who led the effort to oust Kevin McCarthy as speaker, was told to sit down by McCarthy but refused.