“A major Republican donor and one-time financial backer of former President Donald Trump is now a leader in the Florida chapter of No Labels’ third-party presidential bid,” Politico reports.
“Allan Keen, a Florida-based real estate developer and investor who gave more than $137,000 to Trump-related election entities last cycle, has joined the centrist political group in a leadership role with its Florida chapter.”
House Republicans are likely to launch an impeachment inquiry into President Biden without a formal vote on the House floor — precisely the move they criticized former Speaker Nancy Pelosi for in 2019, Politico reports.
At the time, Speaker Kevin McCarthy accused Democrats of pursuing “a process completely devoid of any merit or legitimacy.”
Said Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) back then: “It’s not impeachment unless there is a vote.”
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) accused fellow Republicans of hypocrisy by threatening a government shutdown to force spending cuts after being “quiet as little lambs” about spending when Donald Trump was in office, Semafor reports.
Said Romney: “A little less hypocrisy would be a good thing.”
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President Biden said his administration has been in “constant contact” with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) as the state braces for Hurricane Idalia to make landfall, The Hill reports.
Said Biden: “We’re providing everything he could possibly need. We’re in constant contact… I told the governor, and the mayor of the region that’s likely to be hit first, that we’re there as long as it takes, and we’ll make sure they have everything they need.”
NBC News: “Prosecutors are seeking 33 years in federal prison for Enrique Tarrio, the former leader, when he’s sentenced in the morning. Ethan Nordean will be sentenced Wednesday afternoon, with prosecutors seeking a 27-year prison sentence.”
“On Thursday, Joe Biggs — whom prosecutors want to spend 33 years behind bars — will have his sentencing hearing. The same day, a judge will sentence Zach Rehl, whom the Justice Department wants to serve 30 years in prison.”
CBS News: “Trump is considering waiving his arraignment appearance, which is scheduled for the morning of Sept. 6… He is charged with 13 felony counts related to an alleged scheme to overturn the results of the presidential election in Georgia.”
“Fulton County Superior Court allows defendants to appear virtually for arraignments or waive their right to appear at all. Instead, a defendant’s attorney would enter a not guilty plea in writing.”
New York Times: “The White House is looking for new ways to re-energize a crucial constituency that helped propel Mr. Biden to the presidency. That means describing the stakes of the election in stark terms… arguing that the Republican Party is trying to reverse generations of racial progress in America.”
“Some Republicans in Washington and Georgia began attacking Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis immediately after she announced the Aug. 14 indictment of former President Donald Trump for conspiring to overturn the 2020 presidential election results,” the AP reports.
“But others, including Gov. Brian Kemp, have been conspicuous in their unwillingness to pile on.”
Donald Trump “has raised more than $9.4 million since being processed and taking a mugshot in Fulton County, Georgia last week—bringing the Trump campaign’s fundraising numbers for the month of August to more than $20 million,” Fox News reports.
“Florida Senator Rick Scott says he will seek a vote on replenishing the depleted federal disaster relief fund next week as his state’s Gulf Coast is on track to get pummeled by Hurricane Idalia,” Bloomberg reports.
“The organizers of No Labels, the bipartisan group preparing a potential third-party presidential ticket, have been conducting focus groups with like-minded voters to help draft a candidate selection plan next year without a traditional state-run primary system,” the Washington Post reports.
“The group is also considering staging televised town halls or debates in the coming months, possibly with a media partner, to help kick-start the process of selecting presidential and vice-presidential nominees. No Labels plans to nominate candidates at an April convention in Dallas only if the group’s leaders first determine that there is a viable path to victory against the Democratic and Republican nominees.”
Wall Street Journal: “During the 2016 presidential campaign, Jeffrey Epstein began setting up meetings with people close to Donald Trump. He introduced some of them to another of his associates, a top Russian diplomat.”
“Although Trump was a sizable underdog to Hillary Clinton, Epstein began saying in 2016 that he thought Trump could win, and the convicted sex offender bragged about how many people in Trump’s orbit that he knew.”
“By the time Donald Trump is sitting at his federal trial on charges of criminally conspiring to overturn the 2020 election, he may have already secured enough delegates to effectively clinch the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential nomination,” the New York Times reports.
“The former president’s trial is scheduled to start March 4, by which point five states are expected to have held nominating contests. The next day, March 5, is Super Tuesday, when 15 states, including delegate-rich California and Texas, plan to hold votes that will determine if any Trump challenger has enough political oxygen to remain a viable alternative.”
“Most Republican voters in Georgia polled by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution say they still believe the 2020 presidential election was tainted by large-scale fraud — despite abundant evidence to the contrary.”
“The poll of likely Republican Party primary voters shows that 61% of respondents said there was widespread fraud in the last presidential election, a distrust that has persisted for nearly three years as another race looms.”
“Conservative groups say they’re planning a telethon to benefit the Michigan Republicans who are facing criminal charges after signing a certificate falsely claiming that former President Donald Trump won the state’s 2020 election,” the Detroit News reports.
“The event will feature guests like former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who was Trump’s personal lawyer, and Steve Bannon, who was Trump’s chief strategist, according to the PAC.”
Canada is advising travelers to the U.S. to be wary of state laws affecting LGBTQ+ people, Axios reports.
“John Eastman, a Trump-allied lawyer indicted in connection with efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia, is among more than 100 of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ former law clerks defending Thomas’ integrity in an open letter,” NBC News reports.
“The day before he announced the end of his short-lived presidential campaign, Francis Suarez filed a financial disclosure statement with the Federal Elections Commission revealing more than a dozen previously undisclosed lucrative side gigs held by the Miami mayor since the beginning of 2022,” the Miami Herald reports.
“In his federal financial disclosure, dated Aug. 28 and released publicly on Tuesday, Suarez listed income ranges for 15 consulting arrangements or jobs, including his mayoral compensation, and five investment properties — putting his total income for the past 20 months somewhere between $2.1 and $12.9 million.”
“This is the first time that Suarez — a part-time mayor with annual compensation of around $130,000 from the role — has reported income earned from outside work, which is not required for state and local disclosures.”
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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