“Donald Trump has endorsed Bernie Moreno in Ohio’s U.S. Senate race, a major lift for the former Cleveland car dealer given the sway the ex-president holds among Republican voters,” the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
Trump Disqualified from Colorado Ballot
“In a bombshell decision, Colorado’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that former President Donald Trump’s candidacy in the state is prohibited on constitutional grounds,” NBC News reports.
“The first-of-its kind ruling stems from a lawsuit that focused a little-known provision in the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Similar challenges in other states have proven unsuccessful.”
Washington Post: “The ruling marked the first time a court kept a presidential candidate off the ballot under an 1868 provision of the Constitution that prevents insurrectionists from holding office. The ruling comes as courts consider similar cases in other states.”
Politico: “The ruling will almost certainly speed efforts to force the issue up to the U.S. Supreme Court, and the court contemplated that outcome by staying its decision until Jan. 4, 2024, to give the justices time to consider the matter.”
Israel Offers Hamas One-Week Pause in Fighting
“Israel is offering to pause the fighting in Gaza for at least one week as part of a new deal to get Hamas to release more than three dozen hostages the terror group is holding,” Axios reports.
Trump Tests New Ground Game Strategy in Iowa
“As Donald Trump returns to Iowa on Tuesday for the fourth time in less than a month, his campaign is intently focused on turning out supporters who have never attended the state’s caucuses in hopes of building a decisive victory to match his robust lead in the polls,” CNN reports.
“One of the biggest objectives for the former president, advisers say, is fighting any sense of complacency among supporters who see polls showing him with a 30-point lead less than one month before the Iowa caucuses open the Republican nominating contest.”
“On each visit, even as he delivers increasingly harsh rhetoric on immigration and more, Trump makes clear that he needs their support.”
Crypto Super PAC Network Has $78 Million
“Three allied political action committees funded by leaders of the cryptocurrency industry will be starting 2024 with a combined $78 million as they aim to be key influencers during the pivotal election cycle,” CNBC reports.
“The massive amount of cash that the PACs are prepared to use in support of likely pro-crypto candidates running for seats in both the House and Senate shows how the cryptocurrency industry is still trying to influence elections despite some recent headwinds.”
Where Is Navalny?
“After two weeks without word from Aleksei Navalny, Russia’s most prominent opposition figure, his lawyers and allies, fearing the worst, are running a frantic campaign to find him,” the New York Times reports.
“Their efforts have included requesting information from dozens of Russian prisons and taking to social media to raise awareness of Mr. Navalny’s disappearance and to call on the Russian government to reveal his whereabouts.”
Turkey Links Sweden’s NATO Bid to F-16 Jet Sales
“Ratification of Sweden’s NATO membership by Turkey’s parliament hinges on the U.S. Congress’ approval of Turkey’s request to purchase F-16 fighter jets, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said, calling on the two legislatures to act ‘simultaneously,'” the AP reports.
McCarthy’s Exit Is Official
Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy will resign from Congress effective December 31, Politico reports.
House Republicans will start 2024 with just 220 members of their conference.
Prosecutors Eyed Charges Months Before Jack Smith
“Months before special counsel Jack Smith took over the case, federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C. were considering obstruction charges in connection with Donald Trump’s bid to subvert the 2020 election,” Politico reports.
“A newly unsealed court filing related to the Trump grand jury investigation shows that prosecutors were eyeing the charge — which had already been deployed against dozens of Jan. 6 riot defendants — at least by September 2022 and perhaps as early as the spring.”
Tuberville May Drop Remaining Holds
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) “may drop the remainder of his holds on military nominations, which would mark an official end to his procedural protest of a Pentagon abortion policy,” Politico reports.
What If Putin Wins?
“The impasse over aid from the US and Europe has Ukraine’s allies contemplating something they’ve refused to imagine since the earliest days of Russia’s invasion: that Vladimir Putin may win,” Bloomberg reports.
“With more than $110 billion in assistance mired in political disputes in Washington and Brussels, how long Kyiv will be able to hold back Russian forces and defend Ukraine’s cities, power plants and ports against missile attacks is increasingly in question.”
“Beyond the potentially catastrophic consequences for Ukraine, some European allies have begun to quietly consider the impact of a failure for North Atlantic Treaty Organization in the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II. They’re reassessing the risks an emboldened Russia would pose to alliance members in the east.”
What Would Reagan Do?
“Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a candidate for the Republican nomination for president, has a book coming out next year on the legacy of a GOP hero — former President Ronald Reagan,” the AP reports.
What Would Reagan Do?: Life Lessons from the Last Great President
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- Christie, Chris (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 287 Pages - 02/06/2024 (Publication Date) - Threshold Editions (Publisher)
Trump Scrambles to Block Witness in Defamation Case
Daily Beast: “The last person Trump’s lawyers want to see is the court expert who put a hefty nine-figure price tag on Rudy Giuliani’s misbehavior.”
“The target of their ire? A Northwestern University marketing professor who analyzes social media trends. Court records show that the very same day Ashlee Humphreys testified in D.C. at Giuliani’s defamation trial last week, a Trump lawyer in New Jersey asked a federal judge in New York to block Humphreys from testifying against the former president.”
Quote of the Day
“That’s the sound of us surging.”
— Nikki Haley, quoted by ABC News, on Donald Trump’s new attack ads.
Tuberville Wishes Trump Were Tougher on Immigrants
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) was asked what he thought of Donald Trump’s comments over the weekend on immigrants “poisoning the blood” of the country, Punchbowl News reports.
Said Tuberville: “I’m mad he wasn’t tougher than that. Because have you seen what’s happening at the border? We’re being overrun. They’re taking us over. So a little bit disappointed it wasn’t tougher.”
Trump Mixes Grievance with Bread-and-Butter Issues
“Donald Trump has consistently generated headlines on the campaign trail for his apocalyptic, often violent rhetoric and for extreme policy proposals that would reshape long-held norms of American government,” the New York Times reports.
“But those comments are wrapped around more traditional political statements. A significant portion of Mr. Trump’s stump speech focuses on core conservative issues that are the bread and butter of Republican politics.”
“Though they draw less media attention, his statements on those issues, which often push the edge of truth, appear to resonate more with his audiences.”
200 People Tied to Jeffrey Epstein Will Be Named
A federal judge ruled the names of nearly 200 people connected to pedophile sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein are to be unsealed as early as January 2, The Messenger reports.
Trump Co-Defendant Loses Her Lawyers
“The attorneys representing Trevian Kutti, a co-defendant of Donald Trump and former publicist for Kanye West, have filed a motion to withdraw as counsel of record,” Fox 5 Atlanta reports.
“On Monday, Kutti posted a photo on Instagram alongside Jacob Chansley, known for his distinctive appearance during the January 6 riot at the Capitol.”
