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Comment on the Justice Department’s subpoenas from Donald J. Trump’s inner circle, and his attorneys’ response to DOJ’s appeal of the special master ruling, in the box below or in the right column, or email editors@thehustings.news, and identify yourself as left or right in the subject line. 

Scroll down to read and comment on these issues:

•”Barr Blasts Special Master Ruling.”

•”Biden Takes Midterm Campaign to Swing States.”

Scroll down a bit more to read Ken Zino’s commentary on President Biden’s recent campaign rhetoric, “Biden in Like a Lamb, Now an Anti-Fascism Lion.”

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…meanwhile…

(Chart: 12-month percentage change in the CPI on selected categories)

(TUE 9/13/22)

CPI Slips Slightly, Not Enough: The Consumer Price Index slipped just a bit in August to an annual rate of 8.3%, from 8.5% annually in July, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. It is not enough for Wall Street, where the Dow Jones Industrial Averages fell nearly 4% by late afternoon, anticipating a likely three-quarter interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve when they meet next week. The CPI reached a four-decade high of 9.1% annually for June.

Leading price increases in August were shelter, food (+0.8%), food at home (+0.7%) and medical care, partly offset by a 10.6% drop in the gasoline index. The energy index was off 5.0%. 

Used cars and trucks dropped by 0.1% to an annual inflation rate of 7.8%, though new vehicle prices rose 0.8% for the month, to a 10.1% annual rate.

AAA reports…The national average for a price of regular unleaded gasoline was $3.707 per gallon on Tuesday, down from $3.779 one week ago. This compares to a record-high $5.016 per gallon per AAA data for June 14.

•••

DOJ Issues More than 30 Subpoenas, Seize Two Phones in 1/6 Probe: The Justice Department issued more than 30 subpoenas in its January 6 Capitol insurrection inquiry in the last week, according to joint reporting by The New York Times and CNN, and seized electronic devices of Trump advisor Boris Epshteyn and campaign strategist Mike Roman in the swing states’ “fake electors” attempt. Among subpoena recipients was ex-President Trump’s former social media director, David Scavino. 

Former New York City police commissioner and friend of former America’s Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Bernard Kerik, who promoted baseless claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election, was issued a subpoena by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C. Kerik has been implicated in alleged plans to overturn the election for Trump in Congress’ official Electoral College count on January 6.

--Todd Lassa

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Special Master of Trump’s Domain

Justice Department prosecutors wrote in a special filing late Monday they would accept one of the Trump attorney’s two candidates for special master in the Mar-a-Lago government document case, former New York chief federal judge Raymond J. Dearie, The Wall Street Journal reports. They also supported DOJ’s two candidates in the filing; retired federal judges Barbara S. Jones and Thomas B. Griffith. 

But Trump attorneys earlier Monday continued to argue against a pause in Federal District Judge Aileen M. Cannon’s ruling calling for a federal master and preventing the FBI from examining the documents in the interim, CQ Roll Call reports. Trump’s attorneys dispute whether the documents are classified. 

Comment in the box below or in the left column, or email editors@thehustings.news, and identify yourself as right or left in the subject line. 

Scroll down to read about an ongoing argument on how the GOP should fund its Senate campaigns …

•“McConnell vs. Scott,” on the former’s well-funded Senate Leadership Fund and the latter’s spendthrift National Senate Republican Committee.

•“GOP Senate Campaign Goes for Broke.”

Scroll down a bit further to read Pundit-at-Large Stephen Macaulay’s commentary on President Biden’s campaign style vs. Donald J. Trump’s, “Not Normal.”

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…meanwhile…

(MON 9/12/22)

Ukrainian Momentum: Ukrainian troops on Saturday recaptured the eastern city of Izium, a strategically important railway hub that Russian troops have held since last spring, The New York Times reported Sunday. Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S., Oksana Markarova, confirmed on CBS News that her country has pushed fleeing Russian troops out of 1,200 square miles of the northeast region of Kharkiv in the last eight days, more than the invading forces had captured since April. 

“We have to win, and this counter-offensive shows we can win,” Marakova told CBS’ Face the Nation. She agreed with military assessments that Ukrainian forces can push Russia back to the borders before the end of the year “because of the resolve of the armed forces.”

•••

Better Call Saul: From Sunday’s New York Times’ story about myriad Trump lawyers who have to lawyer-up themselves after working for the former president, this “dark joke”: “MAGA actually stands for ‘making attorneys get attorneys.’”

•••

THIS WEEK ...

The White House: President Biden visits Boston Monday, where he will deliver remarks on Bipartisan Infrastructure already underway and “tangible results for communities and the country.” Biden announces his “Cancer Moonshot” goal of finding a cure, to be held at the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum on the 60th anniversary of President Kennedy’s announcement of his goal to put an American on the moon before the end of the 1960s.

On Tuesday Biden visits the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

On Saturday the president and Jill Biden travel to the United Kingdom for Queen Elizabeth II's funeral, to be held next Monday.

Congress: The Senate is in session Monday, with both chambers in session Tuesday through Friday.

Inflation Rate: The Labor Department publishes the August Consumer Price Index Tuesday. Expectations are the rate will fall somewhat from the annual rate reported for July of 8.5%, which itself decreased from June's annual rate of 9.1%.

--TL

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The Left

Do you lean left? Comment on today’s news or on any recent issues posted in The Hustings with your opinions in the box in this column, or email editors@thehustings.news.

Scroll down for these recent issues …

•Mar-a-Lagogate and The Washington Post’s scoop on a document regarding a nation’s nuclear capabilities.

•President Biden’s Labor Day midterm campaign launch in Milwaukee and Pittsburgh.

•Biden’s “Battle for the Soul of a Nation” speech calling out MAGA Republicans’ authoritarian tendencies.

•Contributing pundit Ken Zino’s commentary, “Biden In Like a Unity Lamb, Now an Anti-Fasccism Lion” on Biden’s speech.

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…meanwhile…

Queen Elizabeth II: 1926-2022

(FRI 9/9/22)

Justice Department appeals… Amid widespread criticism from the legal community of Federal District Judge Aileen Cannon’s order to appoint a special master in the case of classified documents the FBI uncovered at Donald J. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago compound August 8, the Justice Department Thursday asked the judge to allow prosecutors to further review and use the materials seized, reports CQ Roll Call. The DOJ was expected to appeal Cannon’s ruling in favor of ex-President Trump for a special master. 

The judge ordered the DOJ and Trump attorneys lists of acceptable special master candidates by Friday.

In its filing, the Justice Department argues that the injunction on reviewing the seized materials “could impede efforts to identify the existence of any additional classified records that were not being properly stored …” potentially posing an ongoing risk to national security.

Note: The likelihood of a successful appeal to the controversial ruling by a judge President Trump appointed to the Southern District of Florida after he lost the election to Joe Biden seems positive, though as usual, Trump is successful at creating delays.

•••

Queen Elizabeth II … has overseen 15 British prime ministers in her 70 years on the throne. The Queen had met Prime Minister Winston Churchill, born in 1874, and on Tuesday appointed Prime Minister Liz Truss, born in 1974, according to Jane Hartley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom, interviewed on NPR’s Morning Edition Friday. Queen Elizabeth died two days after meeting with Truss at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. The longest-reigning British monarch (her great-great grandmother, Queen Victoria, served for 63 years and seven months) is succeeded by her son, King Charles III, who was scheduled to address his nation later Friday.

--Todd Lassa

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...meanwhile... (THU 9/8/22)

Bannon charged … Former Trump advisor Steve Bannon was charged in a Manhattan court Thursday on money laundering and conspiracy charges in connection with the WeBuildTheWall Inc. fundraiser, the Associated Press reports. New York State prosecutors allege Bannon funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars to two others with money collected from supporters of then-President Trump who wanted to help fund a wall on the southern border with Mexico. 

Prosecutors did not name the two others in the alleged fraud, though Brian Kolfage and Andrew Badolato pleaded guilty to federal charges last April, AP says. Bannon also faced federal charges, though Trump pardoned him on the last day of his administration, before Bannon’s court date. 

That last fact is likely to negate any defense of double jeopardy. State charges are not covered by presidential pardons.

Federal agents arrested Bannon on a yacht off the coast of Connecticut in 2020 and charged him with pocketing more than $1 million in WeBuildTheWall donations. 

•••

Kyiv, Ukraine … Secretary of State Antony Blinken became the highest-ranking official to visit Ukraine Thursday with an unannounced visit to the National Specialized Children’s Hospital Ohmatdyt, where he met with children from the eastern part of the country and with the famous bomb-sniffing dog, Patron, NPR reports. He was scheduled to meet with Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba later Thursday. Blinken announced $2 billion in long-term investments in security for Ukraine and neighbors potentially threatened by Russia. 

Military aid: Meanwhile, from a meeting with counterparts in Germany, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced an additional $675 million in military aid to Ukraine. The State Department said this is set to include more High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), as well as additional munitions and armed vehicles, NPR reports. 

--Todd Lassa

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COMMENTS: editors@thehustings.news

The Right

Do you lean right? Comment on today’s news or on any recent issues posted in The Hustings with your opinions in the box in this column, or email editors@thehustings.news.

Scroll down for these recent issues …

•Mar-a-Lagogate and The Washington Post’s scoop on a document regarding a nation’s nuclear capabilities.

•President Biden’s Labor Day midterm campaign launch in Milwaukee and Pittsburgh.

•Biden’s “Battle for the Soul of a Nation” speech calling out MAGA Republicans’ authoritarian tendencies.

•Pundit-at-large Stephen Macaulay’s commentary, “Not Normal,” on Biden’s speech.

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Barr Blasts Special Master Ruling

William Barr, attorney general for ex-President Trump until he resigned just before Christmas 2020, has joined a plethora of legal experts in criticizing Federal District Judge Aileen M. Cannon’s ordering of a special master in the case of the FBI’s seizure of confidential government documents from Mar-a-Lago. 

“The opinion, I think was wrong,” Barr, whom critics will note is also promoting his book, One Damn Thing After Another told Fox News Tuesday, “and I think the government should appeal it. …

“I don’t think the appointment of a special master is going to hold up,” he continued, saying it will only delay the investigation. “But even if it does, I don’t see it fundamentally changing the trajectory.”

Enter your thoughts in the Comment box in this column, or email us at editors@thehustings.news and identify yourself as leaning left or right in the subject line. 

 

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…meanwhile…

(WED 9/7/22)

Nuking Mar-a-Lagogate… A document describing a foreign government’s military defense, including nuclear capabilities was found by FBI agents in their August 8 search of Donald J. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence and private club, The Washington Post reports. (Picture above is for illustration purposes only -- NOT the document(s) in question.) The FBI also discovered documents so sensitive that only the current, sitting president, some of his cabinet members or near-cabinet level officials “could authorize other government officials to know details of a special access program,” the report states, citing unnamed sources. 

On August 8, serving a Justice Department warrant, the FBI found documents stored at Trump’s Florida estate, more than 300 of them classified, with “uneven security,” 18 months after the former president dragged himself out of the White House, WaPosays.

Who has the nukes?: Sources declined to identify to the WaPo the government involved. It’s unclear what level of nuclear capability might be involved, but for the record, here’s the list of known nuclear weapon powers, beside the United States, according to World Population Review: Israel, North Korea (where the former president has had a “love affair” with its leader), Pakistan, India, China, France, the United Kingdom and, of course, Russia.

•••

Bannon indicted again … Ex-President Trump confidant Stephen K. Bannon is expected to surrender to New York State prosecutors Thursday over a new criminal indictment over the $25 million “We Build the Wall” fundraiser, The Washington Post reports. The indictment alleges that Bannon and “several others” defrauded contributors who thought they were funding a portion of then-President Trump’s wall on the southern border with Mexico. 

Uh-oh: Trump pardoned Bannon in 2020 over federal charges in the “We Build the Wall” scheme, but presidential pardons do not apply to state prosecutions.

•••

Massachusetts primary… Donald J. Trump-backed candidate Geoff Diel won Tuesday’s Republican primary for governor, 55.6% to moderate Chris Doughty’s 44.4%, according to Ballotpedia, despite no reports of Democratic Party money helping his campaign. Diel, who is fervently anti-abortion and was the state chairman for Trump’s 2016 campaign, faces Maura Healey on November 8. Healey took 85.4% of the Democratic primary vote Tuesday, and her only challenger, Sonia Chang-Diaz, who unofficially withdrew. 

Healey is now a heavy favorite to win the general election to replace outgoing Republican Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker and would become the state’s first openly gay governor. While outsiders think of Massachusetts as deep-blue, it has had only one Democratic governor since 1990, Deval Patrick. 

Note: The reality of Massachusetts is that it has a socially liberal, fiscally conservative constituency, according to Newsweek.Considering its gubernatorial history of the past 32 years, it seems an ideal place for the vastly diminished moderate wing of the GOP.

--Todd Lassa

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COMMENTS: editors@thehustings.news

McConnell vs. Scott

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) “has been on the phone with big donors for the past several weeks” to raise campaign fund to fill in for the National Senate Republican Committee’s dwindling funds, report CNN’s Manu Raji and Alex Rogers https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/06/politics/rick-scott-mitch-mcconnell-republican-senate-fundraising/index.html?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=9/7/22%20%20Punchbowl%20News%20AM&utm_term=Punchbowl%20AM%20and%20Active%20Subscribers%20from%20Memberful%20Combined.

McConnell and NSRC Chairman Rick Scott, of Florida, disagree on politics, policy, strategy and fundraising, Punchbowl News reports. The NSRC’s financial woes went public last weekend with a New York Times report that the committee has burned through 95% of its $181.5-million war chest, with much of it spent on a digital fund drive with a “buy it now” tactic that has angered many contributors. CNN says Republican senators are maneuvering to take the matter in their own hands and directly help candidates who need critical resources. Add to that McConnell’s “high-spending” Senate Leadership fund to help make the Kentucky senator the majority leader once again. 

Go to the Comments box below or in the left column, or email editors@thehustings.news.

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Biden Takes Midterm Campaign to Swing States

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers and U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI) joined President Biden in the Democratic Party’s official kickoff to the midterm campaign season at Milwaukee’s Laborfest on the lakefront, Monday. “Notably absent,” according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel was Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who is challenging uber-MAGA Republican incumbent Ron Johnson for his U.S. Senate seat this November 8. 

“He couldn’t be here, but he’s going to be your next United States senator,” Biden said. Barnes participated in a Laborfest parade before the president’s arrival, according to the Journal Sentinel. 

Later, Biden attended a Labor Day parade in Pittsburgh, accompanied by Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman, Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, and others, according to the Pittsburgh Press-Gazette. There, officials touted the nation's highest support of labor unions in 57 years during the Biden administration, reaching 68% approval according to a recent Gallup Poll.

Biden used the appearances to repeat his warning from Independence Hall in Philadelphia last Thursday about the dangers of Trump supporters to our democracy: “Not every Republican is a MAGA Republican. Not every Republican embraces that extreme ideology," he told the Milwaukee crowd. "But the extreme MAGA Republicans have chosen to go backwards, full of anger, violence, hate and division.”

Enter your comments in the box below, or email editors@thehustings.news and please identify yourself as left or right in the subject line.

--TL

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…meanwhile…

(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.

•••

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.

•••

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

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COMMENTS: editors@thehustings.news

GOP Senate Campaign Goes for Broke

A CHIPS Act and Inflation Reduction bill ago, the GOP was tipped to retake the House of Representatives for sure and likely the Senate along with it, thanks to President Biden’s low poll numbers, high inflation rates and conventional wisdom regarding a president’s party’s midterm election prospects. Now the Republican Party’s prospects for retaking the Senate from its 50-50 split (with Vice President Harris breaking ties) are dimming, which also makes a huge gain in the House less likely. 

The Republican Senatorial Committee is looking downright DNC-like, yanking potential defeat from the jaws of victory. On Sunday The New York Times scooped via campaign records how the committee, headed by Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, had collected a record $181.5 million in campaign funds by last July and splurged all but $23.2 million of that on a digital fund drive that has many donors cutting off subsequent contributions. The committee reportedly sent millions of text messages with provocative text messages like “Should Biden resign?” followed by “Reply YES to donate,” which if you did and already had card information stored with the party, sucked cash from your account immediately. 

Such party leaders as Senate Majority Leader-in-waiting Mitch McConnell (R-KY) “are fretting aloud that Republicans could squander their shot at retaking the Senate in 2022, with money one factor as some first-time candidates have struggled to gain traction,” according to the NYT.

Have you been frustrated by such modern methods of raising cash, for either party? If so, tell us about it in the Comments box below or in the left column if appropriate -- or email editors@thehustings.news and let us know in the subject line whether you lean right or left.

--TL

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