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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Biden in Like a Unity Lamb, Now an Anti-Fascism Lion

By Ken Zino

Ah, the changing of the seasons. President Biden’s second trip to Pennsylvania this week resulted in not only the great photographic backdrop of Independence Hall, but it allowed a framing of the crisis that has come from seasons of Republican-created catastrophic political climate change. This is now approaching the second brutal winter troubling the soul of American democracy since Biden won the 2020 election. Indeed, Biden won the last election by using the same theme, but until Thursday night Biden had been remarkably restrained from using it. Biden announced his bid for the presidency in 2019 close to Independence Hall. This was a compelling sequel. 

President Biden -- after clearing his throat into a live microphone -- got straight to the point. Trump (Biden until now referred to him as the “former guy”) and additional so-called MAGA Republicans espouse destructive ideas casting doubt on election results, spreading conspiracy theories and attacking law enforcement and American institutions.

“Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our Republic,” Biden said. …they “are determined to take this country backward” … “advocating authoritarian leaders and they fan the flames of political violence.”

Key points for patriots: 

•“As I stand here tonight, equality and democracy are under assault,” Biden said. “We do ourselves no favor to pretend otherwise.”

•“Not every Republican, not even a majority of Republicans, are MAGA Republicans. Not every Republican embraces their extreme ideology,” Biden said. “But there’s no question that the Republican Party today is dominated, driven and intimidated by Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans. And that is a threat to this country.”

•“MAGA forces are determined to take this country backwards.” 

•“Backwards to an America where there is no right to choose, no right to privacy, no right to contraception, no right to marry who you love.”

•“For a long time, we’ve reassured ourselves that American Democracy is guaranteed. But it is not. We have to defend it. Protect it. Stand up for it. Each and every one of us.”

Yes, I know that MAGA Republicans are clutching more than all the Mikimoto pearls extant would allow. Republicans brought Biden’s real moral outrage on themselves. They are unfit to hold office as we move on to an improving and optimistic American democratic experiment. 

Remember 1776, when 13 colonies embarked on a distinguished experiment in self-governance as an independent, autonomous nation because the course of human events made it necessary to separate ourselves from our unjust rulers. That was the foundation of something immense, and thus far, enduring. The colonies had but 2.5 million people at that time reporting English and other ancestry. Small numbers in today’s world, but they were people with far bigger aspirations, following far bigger ideas.

We the People were refugees or immigrants, lettered or illiterate who were fleeing or escaping religious and political persecution. Biggest of all was the idea that led to the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution of the United States. These ideals embodied in our laws say we will work together to be free of despots and kings.

That’s why it’s called Independence Hall. Not Despot-Lago.

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COMMENTS: editors@thehustings.news

Truth & Politics

By Todd Lassa

Yes, it was a political speech. At least, that’s how House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) prefaced President Biden’s “Battle for the Soul of the Nation” in his pre-speech press conference. As far as the minority leader was concerned, Biden, speaking from Philadelphia’s Independence Hall Thursday night, might have well called Donald J. Trump’s 74-million 2020 voters “deplorables,” but he did not use that word.

Biden didn’t have to.

The president was not speaking to whatever portion of those 74 million Trump 2020 voters still adhere to his Big Lie; he was trying to wake up his own 81 million 2020 voters, too many of whom would not bother in normal times with this November 8th’s midterm elections. These are not normal times, Biden said, conflating his partisan politics with saving American democracy and the Constitution. 

Fail to turn out November 8 to counter the MAGA Republicans – whatever percentage of those 74 million who might remain – and we could lose that ever more fragile democracy to a political movement that would “take America backwards…” MAGA Republicans see January 6 “as a path. … They see it as a path for the 2022 and 2024 elections.”

So that was Biden’s baldly political message at Independence Hall – a warning many Democrats and never-Trump Republicans have been making for two years; that MAGA Republicanism left unchecked would lead the country into authoritarianism -- a descriptor that would have better served Biden than “semi-fascism” from his previous visit to Pennsylvania.

(LABOR DAY WKND 9/2-9/5 2022)

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COMMENTS: editors@thehustings.news

“Not Normal”

By Stephen Macaulay

“At 12 a.m. Thursday, President Trump retweeted a video in which a supporter says, ‘The only good Democrat is a dead Democrat.’

“At 12:53 a.m. Friday, he followed this up by referring to riots in Minneapolis and saying, ‘When the looting starts, the shooting starts.’ — The Washington Post, May 29, 2020

As you may recall, Donald Trump was the president then.

Let that marinate as you think about these comments that were made by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) prior to President Joe Biden’s speech last night: 

•“President Biden has chosen to divide, demean, and disparage his fellow Americans.”

•"When the President speaks tonight at Independence Hall, the first lines out of his mouth should be to apologize for slandering tens of millions of Americans as 'fascists.’”

•"In the past two years, Joe Biden has launched an assault on the soul of America, on its people, on its laws, on its most sacred values. He has launched an assault on our democracy. His policies have severely wounded America's soul, diminished America's spirit and betrayed America's trust."

Let’s unpack that a little bit.

Thursday night Biden said:

“Too much of what’s happening in our country today is not normal. Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our Republic.

“Now, I want to be very clear, very clear up front. Not every Republican, not even the majority of Republicans, are MAGA Republicans. Not every Republican embraces their extreme ideology. I know, because I’ve been able to work with these mainstream Republicans.

“But there’s no question that the Republican Party today is dominated, driven and intimidated by Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans. And that is a threat to this country.”

And:

“And here, in my view, is what is true: MAGA Republicans do not respect the Constitution. They do not believe in the rule of law. They do not recognize the will of the people. They refuse to accept the results of a free election, and they’re working right now as I speak in state after state to give power to decide elections in America to partisans and cronies, empowering election deniers to undermine democracy itself.”

Are these so-called “MAGA Republicans” Americas? Yes. Are these people who seem to live in a world of alternative facts Biden’s “fellow Americans.” Well, in the sense that they are probably American citizens, the answer to that is yes.

But in terms of the ideology that they espouse, no.

Did Biden slander “tens of millions of Americans as 'fascists’”?

No.

Rather, Biden said to a group of Democrats in a private home: "It's not just Trump, it's the entire philosophy that underpins the -- I'm going to say something: It's like semi-fascism."

In other words, Biden was criticizing an ideology that is held by some people, probably not tens of millions, but it seems that ever since Trump lied about the number of people who attended his inauguration, many Republicans have trouble with math.

What’s more, Biden’s actual word was “semi-fascism.” The prefix means “somewhat.” But things like quoting accurately is also something that many Republicans have trouble with, too.

Should the president apologize to people who espouse support for what runs counter to the Constitution? Perhaps McCarthy ought to spend a little more time with that document.

McCarthy claimed that Biden has conducted some sort of assault?

Read, again, the opening passage regarding Trump’s tweets. Did Biden say anything about violence? Did McCarthy and any of his cohorts suggest that Trump apologize—ever?

“The Democrats are hopeless — they never vote for anything. Not even one vote. But we're going to try and give our Republicans, the weak ones because the strong ones don't need any of our help. We're going to try and give them the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country.

“So let's walk down Pennsylvania Avenue.” — Donald Trump, January 6, 2021

“Take back our country.” From whom?

Americans who voted?

What about that, Kevin?

-30-

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COMMENTS: editors@thehustings.news

Economy Adds 315k Jobs

FRI 9/2/22 -- The U.S. economy added 315,000 jobs in August, the Labor Department reported Friday. Notable job gains came in professional and business services, health care and retail trade. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate rose by two-tenths of a point to 3.7%.

--TL

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COMMENTS: editors@thehustings.news

More Trump Treachery Revealed

By Ken Zino

The Justice Department in a 36-page court filing* late Tuesday night responded to the latest attempt at avoidance of accountability by FPOTUS -- Former President Donald Trump -- via an independent special master review of classified documents of the most important type recovered from the legal FBI search of Mar-a-Lago. 

Simply put; Trump’s and his sycophant’s treachery are worse than had previously been revealed. They lied when the claimed falsely that all national security-sensitive documents had been returned. The search found three classified documents in desks inside FPOTUS’ Mar-a-Lago office. 

More outrageous still was more than 100 documents in 13 boxes with classification markings in the residence, including some at the most sensitive levels. This is at least two times the number of classified documents the former president’s lawyers turned over voluntarily while falsely swearing that they had returned all the material wanted by the National Archives or Federal Government. **

The DOJ asserts: “In particular, the government developed evidence that a search limited to the storage room would not have uncovered all the classified documents at the premises. The government also developed evidence that government records were likely concealed and removed from the storage room and that efforts were likely taken to obstruct the government’s investigation.”

In my view, it’s time for democratic rule and the respect for law to proceed. Free DOJ of having to respond to the “stay out of jail” maneuverings of proven liars. Let DOJ and national security officials who need to assess the damages and threats from Trump’s treacheries do their jobs. And if indictments come, so be it – even in the face of Republican threats of violence. It’s time to address these treacheries in U.S. courts under the rule of U.S. laws.

Read the * and ** filings referenced above in the center column.

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COMMENTS: editors@thehustings.news

Meanwhile, Mar-a-Lagogate

(THU 9/1/22)

Scroll down for “DOJ Court Filing Excerpts” below the Alaska special election news item…

Donald J. Trump’s attorneys … argued Wednesday in a 19-page court brief that the Justice Department is “trampling” on the former president’s rights, Politico reports, and demanded an independent review of FBI-seized materials. Trump’s attorneys “sidestepped” prosecutors’ claims of obstruction of justice in the case and avoided the question of whether the ex-prez declassified the documents found at Mar-a-Lago, according to the website. 

U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon is due to announce her decision on a "special master" assigned to review the documents seized Thursday, NPR reports.

Meanwhile: Trump attorneys Christina Bobb and Evan Corcoran are “facing scrutiny” over their communications with the DOJ as witnesses or targets in the criminal investigation The Guardian reports, after they made representations in a June 3 interaction by making claims about complying with a grand jury investigation that turned out to be false.

•••

Biden's address ... President Biden is scheduled to address the nation 8 p.m. Eastern time Thursday from Philadelphia on the "extremist threat" to American Democracy.

•••

Meanwhile, in Alaska … Democrat Mary Peltola beat Republican Trump endorsee/former governor/veep candidate/preternatural MAGA-hatter Sarah Palin to win a special ranked choice election for the state’s single House seat (per Roll Call). Peltola, an abortion rights and gun rights supporter, fills the rest of Republican Rep. Don Young’s term for the end of the year, and becomes the first Alaska native elected to Congress. She faces Palin, plus another Republican, Nick Begich III, and possibly Libertarian candidate Chris Bye in another ranked choice election November 8, to serve a full two-year term. 

Best way to honor Gorbachev ... Russian President Vladimir Putin will "pay tribute" to Mikahail Gorbachev, the former Soviet leader who earned the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990, AP reports, but will not attend his funeral. Gorbachev, a key figure in ending the Cold War as he dismantled the Soviet Union, who died Tuesday age 91, will be buried in Moscow's Novedevichy cemetery next to his wife, Raisa.

--Todd Lassa

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DOJ Court Filing Excerpts (WED 8/31/22)

Filing excerpts from the Justice Department’s 36-page court filing on the FBI’s seizure of sensitive documents August 8 at Donald J. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate:

“Appointment of a special master to review materials potentially subject to claims of executive privilege would be particularly inappropriate because binding Supreme Court precedent forecloses Plaintiff’s argument that review of these materials by personnel within the Executive Branch raises any such privilege concerns. Furthermore, appointment of a special master would impede the government’s ongoing criminal investigation and -- if the special master were tasked with reviewing classified documents -- would impede the Intelligence Community from conducting its ongoing review of the national security risk that improper storage of these highly sensitive materials may have caused and from identifying measures to rectify or mitigate any damage that improper storage caused. Lastly, this case does not involve any of the types of circumstances that have warranted appointment of a special master to review materials potentially subject to attorney-client privilege.”

**Filling expert on what was found during the legal August search

“Once in a secure government setting, the FBI conducted a preliminary review of the documents contained in the Redweld envelope (1). That preliminary document review revealed the following: 38 unique documents bearing classification markings, including 5 documents marked as CONFIDENTIAL, 16 documents marked as SECRET, and 17 documents marked as TOP SECRET. Further, the FBI agents observed markings reflecting sensitive compartments and dissemination controls. Counsel for the former president offered no explanation as to why boxes of government records, including 38 documents with classification markings, remained at the premises nearly five months after the production of the fifteen boxes and nearly one-and-a-half years after the end of the administration.”

(1) Redweld envelope:

“On June 3, 2022, three FBI agents and a DOJ attorney arrived at the Premises to accept receipt of the materials. In addition to counsel for the former President, another individual was also present as the custodian of records for the former President’s post-presidential office. When producing the documents, neither counsel nor the custodian asserted that the former president had declassified the documents or asserted any claim of executive privilege. Instead, counsel handled them in a manner that suggested counsel believed that the documents were classified: the production included a single Redweld envelope, double-wrapped in tape.” (Emphasis added.)

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COMMENTS: editors@thehustings.news

GOP Unmoved

Republicans are ignoring the Justice Department’s discovery of sensitive documents recovered from Mar-a-Lago by the FBI last August 8, HuffPo reports. 

The House Judiciary Committee Republicans’ account run by Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio tweeted Wednesday, “That TIME magazine cover was huge threat to national security.”

While many Republican lawmakers remained silent after the Justice Department released the brief Tuesday night, some on the far-right chimed in, including South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a potential 2024 presidential candidate, who said the FBI was either lying or had planted evidence, HuffPo adds, “a favorite conspiracy theory among conservatives.”

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COMMENTS: editors@thehustings.news

Reading Under the Redacted Lines

By Ken Zino

The 38-page redacted document* released last Friday to comply with a Southern District Court of Florida judge’s order to unseal the affidavit giving probable cause that crimes were committed at ex-President Trump’s Mar-a-Largo home seems complex. But the steps leading up to this legal search are simple to comprehend. It was prompted by 184 returned documents that Trump took from the White House including 25 marked “Top Secret” and 92 marked “Secret” that deal with, well, spying. 

This is really a simple matter in my view, requiring only the simplest explanation of what is going on. 

First, remember that Trump, aka FPOTUS [Former President Of The United States in the filing] publicly demanded that the affidavit justifying the search be released but then took no legal actions whatsoever to compel the court to do so. The crux of the matter is on page 31 subhead 78, “Subject Offenses” and 31 subhead 79 that probable cause exists to believe that evidence, contraband, fruits of crime or other items in violation of USC [United States Code]… will be found at the premises.” Premises, in this case, means multiple, unsecured places at the complex – all of them unsecured with relatively easy access to whomever was poking about. 

Remember that classified documents were found previously, which goes back to when Trump left the White House and then later when the National Archives got some documents that should never have left the White House. The first contact with Trump on this matter was May 6, 2021. Government officials were trying to get the documents returned. So the search was hardly a surprise, let alone a misuse of power. Rather it was an attempt to recover loose documents containing state secrets.

As this unfolds Trump and others potentially face a trial in a U.S. Court of law, not Trump’s bully insurrectionist court of fraudulent opinion. There are some serious charges here ranging from the mishandling of classified documents, and/or possible violations of the Espionage Act and obstruction of justice statutes. [from heading 14 in the release “Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act” (FISA) is a dissemination control designed to protect intelligence derived from the collection of information authorized under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, or “FISC.”

Simply put: FPOTUS maliciously kept national security records that he was required to turn over to the National Archives. There is a DOJ ongoing investigation and a grand jury looking into violations of a series of grave National Security matters that are discussed under the redactions. 

In time, I think some of these serious legal matters will become better known -- likely in only the vaguest of outlines given how sensitive and life-threatening they are to our National Interests and the people who look at for them -- in subsequent legal proceedings. 

*Case 9:22-mj-08332-BER Document 102-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/26/20

From the first page:

“1. The government is conducting a criminal investigation concerning the improper removal and storage of classified information in unauthorized spaces, as well as the unlawful concealment or removal of government records. The investigation began as a result of a referral the United States National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) sent to the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) on February 9, 2022, hereinafter, “NARA Referral.” The NARA Referral stated that on January 18, 2022, in accordance with the Presidential Records Act (PRA), NARA received from the office of former President DONALD J. TRUMP, hereinafter “FPOTUS,” via representatives, fifteen (15) boxes of records, hereinafter, the “FIFTEEN BOXES.” The FIFTEEN BOXES, which had been transported from the FPOTUS property at 1100 S Ocean Blvd, Palm Beach, FL 33480, hereinafter, the “PREMISES,” a residence and club known as “Mar-a-Lago,” further described in Attachment A, were reported by NARA to contain, among other things, highly classified documents intermingled with other records.

2. After an initial review of the NARA Referral, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) opened a criminal investigation to, among other things, determine how the documents with classification markings and records were removed from the White House (or any other authorized location(s) for the storage of classified materials) and came to be stored at the PREMISES; determine whether the storage location(s) at the PREMISES were authorized locations for the storage of classified information; determine whether any additional classified documents or records may have been stored in an unauthorized location at the PREMISES or another unknown location, and whether they remain at any such location; and identify any person(s) who may have removed or retained classified information without authorization and/or in an unauthorized space.

3. The FBI’s investigation has established that documents bearing classification markings, which appear to contain National Defense Information (NDI), were among the materials contained in the FIFTEEN BOXES and were stored at the PREMISES in an unauthorized location.

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COMMENTS: editors@thehustings.news

Classified Documents at Mar-a-Lago…

(WED 8/31/22)

Looks like obstruction of justice … The Justice Department pushed back on federal district judge for the Southern District of Florida Aileen M. Cannon’s “preliminary intent” to grant Trump attorneys a “special master” to overlook the case of the FBI’s August 8 search of government documents kept at Mar-a-Lago, NPR reports. “The Case of FBI’s search of Mar-a-Lago” is not a Nancy Drew title: DOJ released photos of the classified documents, many labeled moved to a floor at ex-President Trump’s Palm Beach, Florida, estate and club, next to boxes of old, framed magazine covers of The Donald. FBI agents had to be granted special security clearance August 8 to inspect some of the documents. 

The DOJ says the classified documents were “likely concealed and removed” from locked Mar-a-Lago storage, to avoid discovery in the FBI search. As pundits have speculated in recent days, the Justice Department’s criminal investigation centers on obstruction of justice.

•••

Gorbachev is dead … Mikhail Gorbachev, the leader who oversaw the dismantling of the Soviet Union and helped end the Cold War, died in Moscow Tuesday after a “long and grave illness,” according to The New York Times. He was 91. 

Gorbachev, who became president of the Soviet Union in 1985, helped bring the Cold War to a peaceful end, freed satellite countries in Eastern Europe and reunited Germany, but his reforms of Russia have since been reversed by its current president, Vladimir Putin. 

“I think he’s one of the most consequential leaders of the 20th Century,” Michael McFaul, ambassador to Russia during the Obama administration, told NPR’s Morning Edition.

--Todd Lassa

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...meanwhile...Mar-a-Lagogate (TUE 8/30/22)

Mastered documents … No need for a special master to review documents confiscated from Mar-a-Lago in the FBI’s August 8 search of ex-President Trump’s Palm Beach, Florida home. The Justice Department has told U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon that a “filter team” already has weeded out material that should not be reviewed by the criminal investigation, The Washington Post reports. Pundits and analysts have been wondering why Donald J. Trump’s attorneys have waited this long to request the special master. Judge Cannon, a Trump appointment, said last Saturday it was her “preliminary intent” to appoint a special master, but now we will not need to wait for her decision. 

•••

Secret Service assistant director retires … U.S. Secret Service Assistant Director Tony Ornato, a key figure in the House Select Committee hearings on the January 6 Capitol attack, has announced his retirement after 25 years of service, Just Security reports. In a key hearing this summer, Cassidy Hutchinson, aide to Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, told the panel that Ornato described then-President Trump as lashing out “in anger” when Secret Service agents refused to drive him to the Capitol on January 6.

--Todd Lassa

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Will Mar-a-Lagogate Finish Trump? (MON 8/29/22)

Donald J. Trump is embroiled in one more scandal that may stretch beyond the limits of his political career.

Again.

This time, however, there is concern over what sort of harm the ex-president’s hubris in running off to Mar-a-Lago with what he has insisted are his White House documents may have imposed on our national security. As originally reported by Politico National Intelligence Director Avril D. Haines has written to the House Intelligence and Oversight Committees that her office will lead an investigation to assess the “potential risk to national security that would result from the disclosure” of the 184 government documents that Trump hauled off to Mar-a-Lago when he left the White House. This will be an assessment of what intelligence sources and systems may have been identified within those boxes of papers kept at the ex-president’s Palm Beach, Florida, estate. 

Of three criminal laws listed as the basis for the search warrant on Mar-a-Lago served August 8, much of the attention has been on the Espionage Act and the FBI’s recovery of 25 top secret, 92 secret and 67 confidential documents. But according to The New York Times Sunday “the crime of obstruction is as, or even more, serious a threat to Mr. Trump or his close associates,” and cites Section 1519 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. In other words, Trump may be held responsible for keeping the documents from being returned to the National Archives for more than a year after he left the White House. Violating Section 1519 carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, “which is twice as long as the penalty under the Espionage Act,” the Times says.

Florida judge: Meanwhile, Judge Aileen M. Cannon of the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Florida said Saturday it is her “preliminary intent” to appoint a “special master” to conduct a review of the 184 documents the FBI seized three weeks ago, the NYT says. According to NPR, a special master is usually an attorney or former judge acting as an independent arbiter in the case – typically requested an appointed at the time the warrant is served.

--Todd Lassa

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COMMENTS: editors@thehustings.news

Beware 1/6 Redux, Graham Warns

How is GOP leadership reacting to the latest Trump scandal that would immediately end any other politician’s career, at the least? Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told Fox News’ Sunday Night in America there will be “riots in the streets” if Trump is indicted for storing the documents at his Florida estate and private club. Just a bit more subtle than Steve Bannon’s January 5, 2021 tweet; “All hell is going to break loose tomorrow!”

Graham is arguably the most “mainstream traditional” of Trump’s acolytes. A grand jury subpoena of Graham in the Fulton County, Georgia investigation of Trump’s alleged interference in the state’s Electoral College count after the November 2020 presidential election is on temporary hold to determine whether the senator “is entitled to a partial quashal or modification of the subpoena to appear before the special purpose grand jury,” according to Vanity Fair.

Meanwhile: The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), which officially keeps all presidential records and papers has joined the FBI and Department of Homeland Security in facing “a spike in threats and vitriol in the weeks since the FBI search” of Mar-a-Lago, August 8.

What do you think?: Is there any excuse for Sen. Graham’s warning of another MAGA uprising? Will Donald J. Trump survive yet another legal scandal? Should the Justice Department filed charges against the former president?

Hit the Comments box in this column or the left column, or email editors@thehustings.news and identify yourself as “leaning right” or “leaning left” in the subject line.

--TL

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