Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) tore into Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Monday for recording a phone call with President Trump over the weekend, Politico reports.
Said Perdue: “I guess I was raised differently. To have a statewide elected official, regardless of party, tape without disclosing a conversation — private conversation — with the president of the United States, and then leaking it to the press is disgusting.”
Rick Hasen: “As with so many things in this presidency and president, the question is whether Trump is drinking his own Kool-Aid. Reading the entire one-hour rambling call transcript, it is hard to know if Trump actually believes the fever swamp of debunked conspiracy theories about the election or whether he’s just using the false claims as a cover to get the political results he wants…”
“Trump is the rare potential criminal defendant to have plausible deniability about whether he accepts truths as clear as gravity, making any prosecution difficult. Add onto that concerns of prosecutorial discretion for both the new Biden administration and Georgia officials, possible claims of legal immunity, a presidential self-pardon that could relieve Trump of liability under federal law, and other political hurdles, and a prosecution of Trump is unlikely.”
“Despite the long odds, I would hope at least Georgia prosecutors will consider going after Trump, or that the House of Representatives might impeach him again with the goal of disqualifying from running in 2024. Lack of prosecution or investigation demonstrates that there’s little to deter the next would-be authoritarian—perhaps a more competent one—from trying to steal an election. Trump came a lot closer than he should have this time, and next time we may not be so lucky.”
All ten living secretaries of defense — including Dick Cheney, James Mattis, Mark Esper, and Donald Rumsfield — signed an open letter about the military and the peaceful transfer of power:
“As senior Defense Department leaders have noted, ‘there’s no role for the U.S. military in determining the outcome of a U.S. election.’ Efforts to involve the U.S. armed forces in resolving election disputes would take us into dangerous, unlawful and unconstitutional territory. Civilian and military officials who direct or carry out such measures would be accountable, including potentially facing criminal penalties, for the grave consequences of their actions on our republic.”
David Frum: “That letter from 10 former SecDefs warning against Trump using the military to hold onto power causes me to wonder: Has Trump been making calls to US generals like that he made to Georgia secretary of state, demanding or threatening they help him overturn the 2020 election?”
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Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), who is seen as a rising star in the Republican Party and a major ally for President Trump, told Fox News that he will not oppose the counting of certified electoral votes during a joint session of Congress later this week to confirm Joe Biden’s election victory.
And not surprisingly, Trump turned on Cotton, warning him that Republican voters “never forget.”
Politico: “An intra-party battle is heating up within the Republican Party as two bitterly divided sides clash over the decision of at least 12 GOP senators, and dozens more House Republicans, to challenge the certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential election win.”
“The effort is snowballing as more Republicans join the Trump-guard led by Sens. Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley in the Senate and Rep. Mo Brooks in the House, while the old guard like Senate Majority Mitch McConnell, Sen. Pat Toomey and Mitt Romney is warning that this effort is jeopardizing the nation’s democratic values.”
“With nearly a quarter of Senate Republicans taking part in the effort, against the urging of top GOP Senate leaders, it is also becoming clear just how much of a force Trump will be in the Republican Party even once he’s out of the White House.”
“The tensions have jumped so high that individual GOP senators are now directly headbutting one another, with Toomey accusing Cruz, Hawley and other Republicans of undermining the right to participate in direct elections and Hawley decrying Toomey’s arguments and ‘shameless personal attacks.'”
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) told ABC News that President Trump could face a criminal investigation over his demand that Georgia top elections official “find” enough votes to throw the state to him.
Said Raffensperger: “I understand that the Fulton County district attorney wants to look at it. Maybe that’s the appropriate venue for it to go.”
Former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer (R) announced he will explore a run against California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D).
“Terry McAuliffe (D) announced Monday that he has raised more than $6 million for his comeback bid for Virginia governor, far surpassing what previous gubernatorial hopefuls have raised at similar points in their campaigns,” the Washington Post reports.
First Read: “The last two months since the election — Nov. 3 to Jan. 3 — have been arguably the two most turbulent months of the Trump Era.”
“They also perfectly encapsulate the entire Trump presidency.”
“False claims and conspiracy theories. Chaos. Firings and staff shakeups. Controversial pardons. Defeats in Congress and the courts. A divided Republican Party – split between those willing to do the president’s bidding and those thinking he’s gone too far. And to top it all off, a leaked phone call asking Georgia’s secretary of state to overturn the election results on a day when U.S. coronavirus deaths surpass 350,000.”
Trump campaign aide Jason Miller apparently didn’t like being called out for allegedly being a deadbeat dad by Jake Tapper, tweeting that the CNN anchor is a “fake news pussy.”
Miller added: “I’d like to see you say that to my face.”
“President Trump could be planning a trip to Scotland to avoid attending his successor Joe Biden’s inauguration,” the Sunday Post reports.
“Prestwick airport has been told to expect the arrival of a US military Boeing 757 aircraft, that is occasionally used by Trump, on January 19 – the day before his Democratic rival takes charge at the White House.”
“Speculation surrounding Trump’s plans has been fuelled by the activity of US Army aircraft, which were based at Prestwick airport for a week and said to be carrying out 3D reconnaissance of the president’s Turnberry resort.”
“The only Democrat on Georgia’s state election board on Sunday called on Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) to investigate possible civil and criminal violations committed by President Trump during a phone call over the weekend in which the president pressured Raffensperger to ‘find’ enough votes to overturn his defeat, the Washington Post reports.
“For more than four years, President Trump has dominated the Republican Party and the whole of American politics. Now Georgia gets to decide what comes next,” the AP reports.
“Two Senate runoffs on Tuesday, just 15 days before Trump leaves office, will not only determine which party controls the Senate but offer the first clues about how long Trump can maintain his grip on the nation’s politics once he’s out of the White House.”
Axios: “The Republican battle lines being formed in President Trump’s final days — his loyalists vs. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s establishment — will shape American politics for the next four years.”
“A British judge ruled on Monday that Julian Assange cannot be extradited to the United States, granting the WikiLeaks founder a major victory against the U.S. authorities who have accused him of conspiring to hack government computers and violating the Espionage Act with the release of confidential communications in 2010 and 2011,” the New York Times reports.
Atlanta Journal Constitution: “Absent from the campaign trail in the final week leading up to Election Day has been Gov. Brian Kemp. Although Kemp campaigned frequently for the senators earlier in the fall, he has been missing from the final Republican push ahead of Tuesday’s runoffs, embroiled instead in a contentious standoff with President Donald Trump following Trump’s inaccurate claims that he won the November election in Georgia.”
Former Rep. Max Rose (D-NY) said he won’t run for mayor of New York City this year, the New York Daily News reports.
Wall Street Journal: “If an individual gives $500,000 or bundles $1 million for the inauguration, the person would be invited to virtual events with Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris and their spouses…”
“The person also would be granted ‘preferred viewing’ for the virtual inauguration, included in a virtual concert during inauguration week, invited to virtual briefings with Biden leadership, and given VIP tickets to a future in-person event.”
Vice President Mike Pence was on Capitol Hill apparently studying up for his role in Wednesday’s Electoral College vote counting, CNN reports.
“Pence just left the Hill after a two-hour meeting in his office that included an appearance by the Senate parliamentarian… Trump’s been vocal privately that he expects the VP to play a role in the GOP disruption when Congress meets to certify Biden’s win.”
Axios: More Republicans denounce GOP plans to challenge election results.
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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