Alvin Bragg responded to the House Republicans fatuous primal scream earlier today: In a letter to Jordan and others Thursday, Bragg’s office said their request “treads into territory very clearly reserved to the states” — and noted that it had only come after Trump had “created a false expectation that he would be arrested … and his lawyers reportedly urged you to intervene.” “Neither fact is a legitimate basis for congressional inquiry,” stated the letter from the district attorney’s office, signed by general counsel Leslie Dubeck. Complying with their request would interfere with law enforcement and violate New York’s sovereignty, Dubeck added. The letter also poured cold water on Jordan’s suggestion that Congress needed those documents for a review of federal public safety funds, but said the district attorney’s office would nonetheless submit a letter describing its use of federal funds.
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He’s changed his stance on Ukraine without any explanation so now he appears to be confused and weak. TPM had this observation: For big picture purposes, let me just make this clear off the bat: Ron DeSantis’ position on U.S. support for Ukraine is still unclear. But that is largely beside the point. Over the course of the last week and a half, the Florida governor has been roundly criticized by fellow Republicans for an answer he gave in a Tucker Carlson questionnaire about his stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the U.S.’s support for Ukraine’s military. His response at the time was more telling about his 2024 campaign strategy than his actual beliefs about the war. In remarks to Carlson, DeSantis characterized Russia’s year-long deadly invasion of Ukraine as a “territorial dispute” and argued that supporting Ukraine’s defense was not necessarily in the U.S.’s best interest. Here’s the full quote: The remark confused some Republicans and supporters who have been following DeSantis’ positioning for longer than the past year.
I guess she’s completely given up on getting Democratic votes in Arizona. But I’m afraid she might have a teensy problem with MAGA Republicans too. She’s an openly bisexual, former Green, pro-choice, DREAM act supporter whose main “independent” credibility lies with her fealty to corporate interests. This is not a recipe for electoral success with well … anyone, and certainly not in Arizona where MAGA is very strong. Has she not heard about the culture war? Ever since Sen. Kyrsten Sinema became an independent in December, her Democratic colleagues have been restrained about the shift, careful not to alienate the Arizona lawmaker when they only have a single-seat majority and need her support on legislation and nominees. Hoping to get through this year, and then gain clarity about whether Sinema will even seek reelection in 2024 let alone continue to caucus with her old party, Senate Democrats have dodged questions about the mercurial marathoner who’s still barely in their ranks. “It’s really early,” Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), who chairs the Senate Democratic campaign arm, told me.
Rupert reads the polls Trump has been improving in the polls in the last few weeks so guess what? Donald Trump’s reported “soft ban” from Fox News is at an end, and he’s getting the band back together for the 2024 Republican presidential primary. Trump will appear on prime-time host Sean Hannity’s show next Monday, the network announced on Wednesday. The interview will mark Trump’s first Fox appearance since September 2022, according to the Media Matters database. Fox weekend host Mark Levin let slip on his radio show the day before that he will also interview Trump the following Sunday.
And pass me some laudanum Yes, they’re firing people over the Statue of David: On Thursday, the Tallahassee Democrat reported that the principal of a local charter school, the Tallahassee Classical School, was forced to resign after three parents complained about an art teacher showing a picture of Michelangelo’s 16th-century sculpture of David. “Parental rights are supreme, and that means protecting the interests of all parents, whether it’s one, 10, 20 or 50,” the chair of the school’s board, Barney Bishop III, told the paper. To figure out exactly how this happened, I called Bishop, who is also, according to his biography, a consultant, a lobbyist, an “outspoken advocate for the free enterprise system,” and an Eagle Scout. Our conversation has been edited for clarity. Dan Kois: Why did the board make the decision to remove the principal of the school? Barney Bishop III: Well, like all the reporters I’ve talked to today, the premise that you’re operating from is incorrect. We didn’t remove her. She resigned. She’s an at-will employee by contract, as are all our teachers.
Especially if you’re underage and undocumented The graphic above popped up on Twitter last light and then Helaine Olen did this morning in writing about kids working in meatpacking (Washington Post): “A self-supporting and self-respecting democracy can plead no justification for the existence of child labor,” wrote Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1937, as he sent the legislation known as the Fair Labor Standards Act to Congress. With the bill, which also established a national minimum wage, lawmakers condemned the ghastly practice of children toiling on factory floors to the past. But American child labor is making a comeback. Underage children are operating fryers in restaurant kitchens and assembling parts at auto plants. Last month, when the New York Times published a blockbuster expose on how some of the nation’s mostprominent companies depend on subcontractors who illegally employ migrant children, it brought attention to an ongoing horror. The Economic Policy Institute recently crunched Labor Department data and discovered an almost 300 percent increase in child labor violations since 2015.
Headlines we’re sure to see It’s not as if the question of Donald Trump running for president from jail hasn’t been addressed before. It’s just that Trump’s arrest seems more imminent. The chances of Trump actually being held in jail pending trial for any of four separate investigations seems remote. That doesn’t stop the speculation. Newsweek (Wednesday): CNN (Wednesday): Mad Magazine should run a “Headlines We’re Sure To See” bit on Trump’s arrest. We’ve been here before.
The two-day poll, concluded on Tuesday, found 54% of respondents – including 80% of the former president’s fellow Republicans and 32% of Democrats – said politics was driving the criminal case being weighed by a Manhattan grand jury. Seventy percent of respondents, and half of Republicans, said it was believable that Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign paid the adult film actress Stormy Daniels for her silence about an alleged sexual encounter. Some 62% of respondents, including a third of Republicans, said it was also believable that Trump falsified business records and committed fraud. So a large number of Republicans obviously don’t care that he paid the hush money, and committed fraud. The rest are delusional. No surprise there.
We’ve been here before There are so many lawsuits and criminal investigations involving Donald Trump in the news right now that it’s hard to keep up. The indictment he announced was coming on Tuesday didn’t materialize but by all accounts, it is imminent, possibly even today. If that happens Trump won’t be immediately handcuffed and extradited to New York on Con Air. Prosecutors will arrange for him to appear for an arraignment which, according to the New York Times will disappoint Trump as he is looking forward to the spectacle so that he can “show strength.” I don’t buy that but I can certainly see that he might look forward to bilking his loyal following for another chunk of their social security checks by playing the martyr. Lucky for him, his defenders have circled the wagons and are preparing to fight fire with fire. At the moment they are concentrating their efforts on Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.