Category: 2020 Election
Judge throws out Trump effort to block subpoena for tax returns
A federal judge in New York on Thursday dismissed President Trump’s latest effort to stymie a New York grand jury subpoena for his tax returns and a trove of other financial documents.
The ruling by District Judge Victor Marrero relied heavily on the Supreme Court’s landmark decision last month that rejected Trump’s claim that presidents enjoy absolute immunity from criminal probes.
“That notion, applied as so robustly proclaimed by the president’s advocates, is as unprecedented and far-reaching as it is perilous to the rule of law and other bedrock constitutional principles on which this country was founded and by which it continues to be governed,” Marrero wrote. Continue reading.
MSNBC: Phillips Leads Bipartisan Negotiations on Pandemic Relief, USPS
Minnesota GOP Promoting Voting by Mail
Minnesota Republicans are on record with being concerned about people voting by mail. Now, the Minnesota GOP is sending out ballot applications. It seems to us that there is no consistency with this kind of behavior unless they only want specific people to vote safely. If it’s fraudulent for people to vote by mail, wouldn’t be fraudulent for Republicans to do so?
Steve Bannon pleads not guilty on fraud charges
Former Trump administration chief strategist Steve Bannon pleaded not guilty on Thursday after being indicted and taken into custody in New York on federal fraud charges.
The latest: A federal judge agreed to release Bannon on a $5 million bond. His travel will be restricted to the New York and Washington, D.C. areas, and he will not be allowed to use private jets or boats without permission.
The state of play: Bannon, along with three others, allegedly defrauded donors out of hundreds of thousands of dollars for their own profit with a crowdfunding campaign called “We Build the Wall” that raked in over $25 million. Continue reading.
Trump, While Attacking Mail Voting, Casts Mail Ballot Again
President Trump cast a vote-by-mail ballot in Florida this week after months of questioning the security of the method of voting, and in doing so he returned it to election officials using a technique many Republicans say should be illegal.
The way Trump voted shows how he’s had to walk a fine line, and often tweak his language around voting, to adjust for political realities and his own behavior.
Trump submitted the Florida primary ballot by giving it to a third party to return, a spokesperson for the Palm Beach elections supervisor confirmed to NPR on Wednesday. Republicans often derisively refer to sending in a ballot this way as “ballot harvesting,” and it’s something Trump has criticized. Continue reading.
Kellyanne Says Biden Has No Pandemic Plan — Then Claims She Read It
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway falsely claimed on Wednesday that Joe Biden had no plan to address the COVID-19 pandemic. Less than a minute later, she claimed to have read Biden’s entire COVID-19 plan.
On Fox News, Conway complained that Democrats had not explained how Biden would address the coronavirus.
“If they’ve got a good idea,” she demanded, “they shouldn’t be sitting ’til November 4th.”
Host Sandra Smith corrected Conway, noting that Biden indeed has a plan.
Widespread horror as Trump cabinet member mocks domestic violence survivors with GIF of Lisa Simpson crying
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was blasted on Wednesday for tweeting a picture of “The Simpsons” character Lisa Simpson crying while the Democratic National Committee Convention was broadcasting a segment featuring domestic violence survivors.
The segment highlighted former Vice President Joe Biden’s leadership in passing the Violence Against Women’s Act.
Pompeo was harshly criticized for his tweet, here’s some of what people were saying: Continue reading.
McEnany Won’t Say Trump Will Accept Election Result
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany refused to guarantee President Donald Trump will accept the election results, instead saying he would “see what happens,” and then “make a determination” what to do.
“The president has always said he’ll see what happens, and make a determination in the aftermath,” McEnany told a reporter Wednesday afternoon.
Claiming he “wants a free election, a fair election,” McEnany said Trump wants “confidence in the results of the election.” Trump has been doing exactly the opposite: working to ensure the election is not free or fair, and that the results will be questioned – especially if he loses. Continue reading.
The Memo: Obama enters battle, enraging Trump
Former President Obama returned to the political battlefield with full force on Wednesday — and immediately got under the skin of his successor.
Obama cast President Trump as an existential threat to American democracyduring his speech to the Democratic National Convention. Such an intervention by a former president against his successor is unprecedented in recent history — but merited, in Obama’s view, given the stakes.
“This administration has shown it will tear our democracy down if that’s what it takes to win,” Obama said near the climax of his speech. Continue reading.