Political Wire

Harvard Professor Says Trump Will Likely Be Indicted

July 3, 2022 at 6:53 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Harvard Law School professor Laurence Tribe told CNN he thought an indictment of Donald Trump was likely.

Said Tribe: “There’s indication—certainly from the searches and seizures of both John Eastman and of others—strong evidence that the Justice Department is not stopping with the foot soldiers, it’s going to the Generals. And the biggest General of all, of course, is Donald Trump. I do think the odds are he will be indicted.”

However, Tribe said the committee members are presented with a lose-lose situation. If they do indict Trump, there will be violence. If they don’t, they “invite another violent insurrection.”

China Preparing to Attack Taiwan But Not Imminent

July 3, 2022 at 6:48 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Gen. Mark Milley told the BBC that China is clearly developing the capability to attack Taiwan at some point.

Said Milley: “Whether they would or not, it’s a political choice, it’s a policy choice, that will be based off of how the Chinese view the cost risk benefit at the time.”

He added: “There’s no indications or warnings of anything imminent at this time. But again, we watch it very, very closely.”

The Long Path to Reclaim Abortion Rights

July 2, 2022 at 8:32 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Times: “Although abortion rights supporters say their strategy is promising, the path ahead is slow and not at all certain. Polls show that Americans overwhelmingly say that the decision to have an abortion should be made by women and their doctors rather than state legislatures. But Republican-controlled state legislatures have passed hundreds of restrictions on abortion over the last decade, and legislative districts are heavily gerrymandered to protect Republican incumbents. Litigation in state courts will be decided by judges who in many cases have been appointed by anti-abortion governors.”

“Abortion rights groups say their cases relying on state constitutions offer a viable path forward to establish Roe-like protections in states. Even in conservative states such as Oklahoma and Mississippi, they see an opportunity to overturn abortion bans and establish a constitutional backstop against further restriction.”

Uvalde Police Chief Resigns from City Council

July 2, 2022 at 4:22 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Uvalde school district police chief Pete Arredondo has resigned his separate position on the Uvalde city council in the wake of the school massacre in his city, the Uvalde Leader-News reports.

Many GOP Primary Losers Refuse to Admit Defeat

July 2, 2022 at 4:14 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

NPR: “While Trump has most notably spent the last 18 months denying his 2020 election defeat, despite clear evidence he lost, he’s not the only one. During this election cycle, candidates across the country have refused to concede – even in races that are not remotely close.”

“In all of these cases, there is no evidence to back up claims of fraud that could reverse defeats, and most of these elections were not remotely close.”

Atlanta Fed Tracker Suggests U.S. Is In Recession

July 2, 2022 at 4:08 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“A Federal Reserve tracker of economic growth is pointing to an increased chance that the U.S. economy has entered a recession,” CNBC reports.

“The Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow measure, which tracks economic data in real time and adjusts continuously, sees second-quarter output contracting by 2.1%. Coupled with the first-quarter’s decline of 1.6%, that would fit the technical definition of recession.”

Handgun Permit Requirement Ends In Indiana

July 2, 2022 at 4:06 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The repeal of Indiana’s requirement for a permit to carry a handgun in public has forced police agencies to change how they handle encounters with armed people,” the AP reports.

“Without the permit requirement, police officers can no longer ask whether someone is legally carrying a handgun or seize a person’s weapon unless they have adequate suspicion that person was involved in a crime.”

SCOTUS Asks Officials to Stop Protests at Justice Homes

July 2, 2022 at 3:57 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The Supreme Court has asked Maryland officials, including Gov. Larry Hogan (R), to enforce state and county laws that prohibit picketing at private homes after protests started outside of the Supreme Court Justices’ homes last month, NBC News reports.

A Very Odd Presidential Race

July 2, 2022 at 1:35 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The 2024 presidential race is shaping up to be unlike any we’ve ever seen.

Joe Biden and Donald Trump are the clear favorites to win their respective parties’ nominations — at least as of this writing.

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Texas High Court Allows Abortion Ban to Go Into Effect

July 2, 2022 at 12:57 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Texas can enforce its abortion ban from 1925, the state Supreme Court ruled late Friday evening, a decision that exposes abortion providers to lawsuits and financial penalties if they continue to perform the procedure,” the Texas Tribune reports.

“The court overruled a district judge in Houston, who on Tuesday had temporarily blocked the state’s old abortion law from going into effect. That law made performing an abortion, by any method, punishable by two to 10 years in prison.”

USA Today: Abortion illegal in Texas again.

The Republican ‘Debate’ in Arizona

July 2, 2022 at 12:55 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

If you missed the debate between the Republican candidates for Arizona governor, the highlights are worth watching.

The Disunited States of America

July 2, 2022 at 12:46 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Pressed by Supreme Court decisions diminishing rights that liberals hold dear and expanding those cherished by conservatives, the United States appears to be drifting apart into separate nations, with diametrically opposed social, environmental and health policies,” the New York Times reports.

“The most immediate breaking point is on abortion, as about half the country will soon limit or ban the procedure while the other half expands or reinforces access to reproductive rights. But the ideological fault lines extend far beyond that one topic, to climate change, gun control and L.G.B.T.Q. and voting rights.”

“On each of those issues, the country’s Northeast and West Coast are moving in the opposite direction from its midsection and Southeast — with a few exceptions, like the islands of liberalism in Illinois and Colorado, and New Hampshire’s streak of conservatism.”

The Abortion Abolitionists

July 2, 2022 at 12:42 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Times: “Many people who oppose abortion believe that life begins at conception and that abortion is murder. Abolitionists follow that thinking to what they believe is the logical, and uncompromising, conclusion: From the moment of conception, abolitionists want to give the fetus equal protection as a person under the 14th Amendment.”

“Abolitionists have long represented a radical fringe, minimized by prominent mainstream national groups who have focused on advancing incremental abortion restrictions.”

“But the abolitionist reach has been growing over the past year, largely through online activism and targeted efforts in some state legislatures and churches.”

Democrats Raised $80 Million After Abortion Decision

July 2, 2022 at 12:42 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“In the first week after the Supreme Court stripped away a woman’s constitutional right to have an abortion, Democrats and aligned groups raised more than $80 million, a tangible early sign that the ruling may energize voters,” the AP reports.

“But party officials say donors are giving much of that money to national campaigns and causes instead of races for state office, where abortion policy will now be shaped as a result of the court’s decision. That’s where Republicans wield disproportionate power after more than a decade of plunging money and resources into critical but often-overlooked contests.”

January 6 Committee Bet Big on Cassidy Hutchinson

July 2, 2022 at 12:34 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Washington Post: “Numerous people close to the committee’s work say the abrupt decision to go public with Hutchinson’s testimony, which surprised even some of its top aides and which involved presenting the world with details the committee itself had learned only days earlier, was necessary to prevent her account from leaking. With evidence that Trump allies were trying to influence her decision to talk, some members also worried she might back out if they waited any longer.”

“By rolling the dice, the committee attracted the attention it has sought for its message that Trump’s role in precipitating the Jan. 6 attack was illegal, unconstitutional and disqualifying for any future bid for public office.”

Trump’s ‘Fear Factor’ Shows Signs of Waning In 2024

July 2, 2022 at 12:32 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“If Donald Trump runs for president again, he’ll likely be the party’s nominee. But a raft of GOP candidates looks ready to take him on, a sign he’s losing some of his dominance in Republican circles,” NBC News reports.

“Just this week, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem launched a commercial aimed at introducing her to a national audience. Trump’s former U.N. ambassador, Nikki Haley, publicly floated a possible presidential bid Thursday in early state Iowa. And Trump’s former secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, began targeting evangelical voters in Iowa and South Carolina with a new ad on the Supreme Court and religious freedom.”

“Meanwhile, Trump’s estranged 2020 running mate, former Vice President Mike Pence, is positioning himself for an expected run against his old boss, while Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton has become a frequent visitor to Iowa and New Hampshire, another early-voting state.”

Democrats Meddle In Maryland GOP Primary

July 2, 2022 at 12:30 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Dan Cox’s campaign for governor of Maryland got an early endorsement from Donald Trump last fall. And now, Democrats want Republican primary voters to know all about it,” Politico reports.

“The Democratic Governors Association launched a new ad Friday blasting Cox, a state lawmaker, for his ties to Trump, for being ‘100 percent pro-life’ and for ‘refusing to support any federal restrictions’ on guns. ‘Dan Cox: Too close to Trump, too conservative for Maryland,’ the narrator intones.”

New Focus on the Gubernatorial Races

July 2, 2022 at 12:23 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Thanks to the Supreme Court, the battle for control of the House and Senate isn’t the only major story in this year’s midterm elections. Now there is renewed focus on the states, where a handful of gubernatorial races could change the balance of power between the parties and determine the future of abortion and voting rights, not to mention influencing who is elected president in 2024,” the Washington Post reports.

“The high court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade moves the abortion issue to the states, where legislatures and governors will determine what access, if any, women will have to abortions. In the absence of federal action, states have begun enacting laws restricting voting rights, and depending on what happens in the Supreme Court’s next term, state legislatures could be even more empowered to set rules for future elections.”