(TUE 9/6/22)
2020 Election tampering … CNN has obtained video surveillance tape showing Cathy Latham, already under investigation for signing a document as a fake elector in the 2020 presidential election, unlocking a door to Coffee County, Georgia voting machines to three Trump operatives who were working with attorney Sidney Powell, on January 7, 2021. One of the three Trump operatives is identified as an IT specialist.
The video from a Manchester, Georgia video office was recorded on the same date various elections offices in swing states were illegally breached, according to CNN.
Statement released: Attorney Bob Cheeley said in a statement, "Ms. Latham has not acted improperly or illegally ... Ms. Latham did not authorize or participate in any ballot scanning efforts, computer imaging or any similar activity." (Per CNN.)
See for yourself: Watch the CNN copy of the video at https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2022/09/06/trump-lawyer-election-georgia-official-drew-griffin-vpx.cnn
This week … The Senate is in session Tuesday through Friday, and again Monday, September12, while the House of Representatives has committee work scheduled this week. Both chambers are in session Tuesday through Friday, September 13-16.
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Truss replaces Johnson … Queen Elizabeth made it official Tuesday at her Balmoral, Scotland, castle conferring on Liz Truss the U.K.’s 56th prime ministership, per The Guardian, thus replacing the scandal-plagued Boris Johnson. Truss, 47, is the U.K.’s third female prime minister, after Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May, all of them Conservative Party leaders. Truss has so far indicated placing some distance between the U.K. and U.S., traditionally known as the closest of allies, over the disastrous withdrawal led by the U.S. from Afghanistan last year, NPR’s Morning Edition reports.
Economic challenges: Truss has promised to cut taxes for a nation reeling over the economic hits from the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.K.'s inflation rate is currently 10.1%, CNN notes, versus the 8.5% rate in the U.S.
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Judge grants Trump special master … Federal District Judge Aileen M. Cannon in a court order issued Monday said she would appoint a special master to examine nearly 13,000 documents that the FBI seized from ex-President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate and private club on August 8. Cannon ordered both Trump’s attorneys and the Justice Department to each submit a list of acceptable candidates for the job by Friday.
The Justice Department is conducting a criminal investigation of Trump’s possession of the government documents, which include papers labeled “Secret” and “Top Secret.” Cannon ruled that the department must stop its review of the documents until after the special master concludes his or her assessment.
Upshot: Based solely on that number -- nearly 13,000 documents – DOJ’s criminal investigation, which appears to include potential obstruction of justice violations, will run well past the November 8 midterm elections and would give Trump plenty of time to announce a run for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. Chalk this up as a win for Trump, who appointed Cannon to the Southern District of Florida court.
--Todd Lassa