“U.S. authorities have seized dozens of internet domains used by Russian intelligence agents and their proxies to steal valuable information from U.S. government computers and email accounts,” CBS News reports.
Vance Now Says Trump Won the 2020 Election
He wouldn’t answer the question at the vice presidential debate this week, but Sen. J.D. Vance was just asked if Donald Trump won the 2020 presidential election and he said: “Yes.”
Biden Can Move Forward on Student Loan Forgiveness
“A federal judge will let expire a temporary restraining order against the Biden administration’s sweeping new student loan forgiveness plan, which could deliver relief to tens of millions of Americans,” CNBC reports.
“The ruling means Biden may move forward with his administration’s student loan forgiveness plan, just weeks before the November election.”
Melania Trump Wanted $250,000 for CNN Interview
“Nearly two months ago, CNN reached out to Melania Trump’s book publisher to request an interview with the former first lady ahead of her upcoming memoir. After several exchanges about a possible interview, the publisher sent an unusual demand last week: an interview would cost $250,000,” CNN reports.
White Supremacist Gang Members Charged
“Forty-two members of what prosecutors call a San Fernando Valley-based white supremacist gang have been arrested in connection with a federal indictment unsealed Wednesday alleging a years-long criminal operation that included drug trafficking, weapons violations and COVID-19 and loan fraud,” KABC reports.
China Is Ready for War
Foreign Affairs: “Amid a growing bipartisan consensus that the United States needs to do more to contain China, much of the policy debate in Washington has focused on China’s economic and technological clout. Now, given China’s economic problems—high youth unemployment, a troubled real estate market, increased government debt, an aging society, and lower-than-expected growth—some scholars and policymakers hope that Beijing will be forced to constrain its defense spending. Others go so far as to say the Chinese military is overrated, contending that it will not challenge U.S. dominance any time soon.”
“But these assessments fail to recognize how much China’s defense industrial base is growing. Despite the country’s current economic challenges, its defense spending is soaring and its defense industry is on a wartime footing. Indeed, China is rapidly developing and producing weapons systems designed to deter the United States and, if deterrence fails, to emerge victorious in a great-power war.”
Melania Trump Confirms Support for Abortion Rights
Melania Trump said in a new video that she believes there is “no room for compromise” when it comes to a woman’s “individual freedom.” CNN reports.
Said Trump: “Individual freedom is a fundamental principle that I safeguard. Without a doubt, there is no room for compromise when it comes to this essential right that all women possess from birth, individual freedom. What does my body, my choice really mean?”
“Her defense of abortion rights puts her at odds with her husband’s position roughly a month from Election Day.”
John Kasich Won’t Vote for Trump
Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) announced he would not vote for Donald Trump.
Said Kasich: “Some people think that I hate Trump. I don’t. I simply don’t think America’s president should be a person who fuels grievances to divide us and doesn’t have a hopeful vision for our future.”
He added: “I’m a lifelong conservative Republican, but I will not be voting for Donald Trump.”
Kinzinger to Lead Republican Group Against Ted Cruz
Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a Republican who is one of the preeminent critics in his party of Donald Trump, will lead a GOP group backing Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX) in his drive to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), the Texas Tribune reports.
How Trump Could Punish His Enemies
New York Times: “If Trump wins, he can use the Justice Department, including the FBI, to seek revenge against his political enemies — even if, as in the cases above, there is little or no evidence of a crime. Doing so would go far beyond anything Trump pursued in his first term.”
“There are multiple safeguards in the American legal system. They largely held when Trump was president. Will they hold again if he has a second term? We posed that question to 50 former top officials from the Justice Department and the White House Counsel’s Office, along with a few retired judges and nonpartisan career DOJ lawyers. The former officials, evenly split between Republicans and Democrats, have served seven presidents.”
“Most of them are freaked out about Trump’s potential impact on the Justice Department.”
Trump Casts ‘Election Interference’ Label on Everything
“Donald Trump has never stopped propagating falsehoods that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him. But now, he is increasingly turning his attention to pre-emptive claims the 2024 election is being rigged to prevent him from returning to the White House,” NBC News reports.
“This year, Trump and his campaign have cited more than a dozen examples of so-called election interference activities by Americans to claim the coming election is being unfairly manipulated. But as general election voting begins around the country, the campaign has provided no evidence of actual cheating and no specific allegations related to potentially illegal efforts by Americans to tamper with this fall’s election proceedings.”
Two Dozen Wisconsin Republicans Endorse Harris
Two dozen Wisconsin Republicans, including former lawmakers, other former elected officials and a GOP sitting district attorney, have signed an open letter declaring their support for Kamala Harris in her campaign for president and condemning Donald Trump, the Wisconsin Examiner reports.
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Trump Mocks Jimmy Carter on His 100th Birthday
“Donald Trump mocked fellow former President Jimmy Carter during a campaign speech on his predecessor’s historic 100th birthday,” People magazine reports.
Harris Moves to Lock In Anti-Trump Republicans
Kamala Harris and Liz Cheney “will appear in the Wisconsin city of Ripon, considered the birthplace of the modern Republican party,” the Financial Times reports.
“Harris will say that while she and Republican voters may not agree on every policy issue, they can trust her to uphold the constitution and the rule of law.”
“The campaign stop, just a month ahead of the election, marks Harris’s most explicit attempt to lure Republicans who have been disenchanted with Trump’s control of their party — and whose votes could decide the election.”
Expect to See More Tim Walz
New York Times: “In fact, since Mr. Walz joined the ticket, the Harris campaign has almost entirely kept him off national television, negating what was seen as one of his greatest strengths.”
“That may be about to change, at least to some extent: In the coming days, Mr. Walz is expected to take part in two national interviews, including one with CBS News’s ’60 Minutes,’ the nation’s most popular television news program; make his late-night television debut as the vice-presidential nominee during a West Coast fund-raising trip; and appear on a prominent pop culture podcast, according to the campaign.”
Deadline: Tim Walz to guest next week on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” in late-night debut.
Georgia’s Election-Law Problems Aren’t Legal Ones
Anna Bower: “Many Americans are alarmed by eleventh-hour rule changes adopted by Georgia’s State Election Board—and rightly so. But many misunderstand where the danger lies.”
“The new rules, which add steps to the process of counting and certifying election results, could cause delays and promote lawlessness by county officials who do not like the outcome of the election. But they will not, as I’ve written for Lawfare, allow Donald Trump to steal the presidency. The problem they create is a political one: sparking postelection chaos, misinformation, and possibly even political violence. That alone makes them immensely valuable to Trump—and potentially destructive to American democracy.”
Melania Forced Donald to Drop Hardline Immigration Policy
“Melania Trump describes in her new memoir how she made her husband, then president Donald Trump, drop a signature hardline immigration policy under which migrant children were separated from their parents, stoking domestic and international uproar,” The Guardian reports.
“‘This has to stop,’ the former first lady says she told her husband, ’emphasizing the trauma it was causing these families’ and seeing him swiftly comply, ending the policy on June 20 2018.”
