“Gov. Bill Lee has paused all Tennessee executions through 2022 after granting a temporary reprieve for death row inmate Oscar Franklin Smith last month due to ‘technical oversight’ in the lethal injection,” the Tennessean reports.
Just dropped · Trial Balloon · Ep. 187
Bad Instincts
Trial Balloon · Ep. 187: Bad Instincts
Select Committee Wants to Hear from 3 GOP Lawmakers
The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol is seeking voluntary testimony from three additional members of Congress — Reps. Mo Brooks (R-AL), Ronny Jackson (R-TX) and Andy Biggs (R-AZ) — who appeared to have some coordination with rioters and efforts to block President Biden’s electoral victory both before and after the attack, The Hill reports.
Romney Wears Disguise to Hide from Trump Supporters
“According to a forthcoming book, Sen. Mitt Romney wears a hat in public to keep from being recognized by supporters of former President Donald Trump,” the Salt Lake Tribune reports.
“Romney’s wife, Ann, told the authors Trump’s grip on the party and the hatred toward Mitt from his supporters gave her severe doubts about whether any of their five sons could ever run for elected office as Republicans.”
Connecticut Moves to Protect Abortion Rights
New York Times: “The Connecticut bill, which Gov. Ned Lamont, a Democrat, has said he intends to sign, would expand the field of people who can perform certain types of abortions beyond doctors, to include nurse-midwives, physician assistants and other medical professionals.”
“And in what lawmakers said could be a model for other states seeking to safeguard abortion rights, the law would also shield abortion providers and patients from lawsuits initiated by states that have banned or plan to ban abortion, even outside their own borders.”
Trump Organization Accused of Hiding Witness
Daily Beast: “Of all Donald Trump’s legal problems, the lawsuit over the way his company’s security guards beat up protesters in 2015 seems relatively minor. But lawyers in that case now believe Trump’s former fixer, Michael Cohen, was in the room when Trump allegedly ordered guards to attack the demonstrators.”
“It’s a crucial detail in an ongoing lawsuit in New York City. And, if true, it would mean the former president lied during sworn videotaped testimony behind closed doors in October last year.”
“It also would indicate that Trump’s former director of security, Keith Schiller, also lied when he was similarly deposed in 2016 by lawyers representing beat-up protesters.”
Oligarch Who Criticized Putin Had to Sell Everything
“Oleg Tinkov was worth more than $9 billion in November, renowned as one of Russia’s few self-made business tycoons after building his fortune outside the energy and minerals industries that were the playgrounds of Russian kleptocracy,” the New York Times reports.
“Then, last month, Mr. Tinkov, the founder of one of Russia’s biggest banks, criticized the war in Ukraine in a post on Instagram. The next day, he said, President Vladimir Putin’s administration contacted his executives and threatened to nationalize his bank if it did not cut ties with him. Last week, he sold his 35 percent stake to a Russian mining billionaire in what he describes as a ‘desperate sale, a fire sale’ that was forced on him by the Kremlin.”
RNC Forced to Turn Over Fundraising Emails
“A federal judge late Sunday rejected the Republican National Committee’s bid to block its mass email marketing vendor from releasing records to the House panel investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack as it probes whether President Donald Trump’s campaign spread false claims of fraud after the 2020 election through fundraising appeals that also stoked violence,” the Washington Post reports.
‘Unprecedented’ Spending In Ohio’s Senate Primary
Columbus Dispatch: “Candidates and interest groups had spent or reserved around $66.2 million on television, cable and radio advertising in the GOP primary as of Monday.”
“That number shattered previous Ohio campaign spending records, underscoring the high stakes and competitive nature of the race for an open U.S. Senate seat even in its final days.”
GOP Senate Frontrunner Loses Lead In Arizona
“Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich has fallen out of first place in the state’s Republican Senate primary, a slide that corresponds with aggressive advertising spending by his opponents — and Donald Trump’s ire,” Politico reports.
“For nearly a year, Brnovich held a steady lead in the primary to take on Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, a key race as the GOP seeks to take back the Senate majority.”
“But walking the fine line between his responsibilities as attorney general and Republican Senate hopeful has proved challenging in a state where Trump allies have unsuccessfully sought to challenge the 2020 presidential election results.”
Will Trump Face a Legal Reckoning in Georgia?
Norman Eisen and Donald Ayer: “We understand that after the Mueller investigation and two impeachments, the prospect of Mr. Trump actually facing accountability may be viewed with skepticism. Most recently, he seems to have avoided charges by the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg.”
“But Ms. Willis, a Democrat, has a demonstrated record of courage and of conviction. She has taken on — and convicted — a politically powerful group, Atlanta’s teachers, as the lead prosecutor in the city’s teacher cheating scandal.”
“And she is playing with a strong hand in this investigation. The evidentiary record of Mr. Trump’s postelection efforts in Georgia is compelling.”
Bill Would Remove Indicted Lt. Governor from Ballot
New York Senate Democrats introduced legislation that would remove former Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin’s (D) name from the June primary ballot following his recent indictment on federal corruption charges, the Albany Times Union reports.
Biden’s Approval Down Even In Massachusetts
A new Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll in Massachusetts finds President Biden’s approval rate at just 46% — even though he won the state in the 2020 presidential election by 33 percentage points.
“Biden’s troubles run across several demographics. He struggled the most with voters 35 or younger, with just 37% of them approving of him. And while nearly all Republicans, unsurprisingly, say they disapprove of his job performance, more than half of unenrolled voters — Massachusetts’ largest voting bloc — said they also hold a dim view: Just 39% say they approve, compared to 52% who don’t.”
Justices Say Boston Cannot Deny Christian Flag
“The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that Boston may not deny a Christian group the ability to raise a flag at City Hall alongside secular organizations that are encouraged to do so to celebrate the city’s diversity,” USA Today reports.
“The unanimous decision was the latest in a series of rulings from the high court in recent years that have favored the protection of religious groups asserting a violation of their rights, only in this case the group had support that transcended traditional ideological and partisan lines. The Biden administration, for instance, sided with the group and against Boston.”
Mexico Won’t Run Rail Link Through Texas
“The Mexican government said it intends to shift long-range plans to build a trade railway connection worth billions of dollars from Texas to New Mexico in the wake of Gov. Greg Abbott’s stepped-up border inspections last month, which were widely criticized as being financially damaging and may now leave a lasting impact on relations between Texas and its No. 1 trading partner,” the Dallas Morning News reports.
“Instead the rail line would be routed along the far edge of West Texas up through Santa Teresa, N.M., about 20 miles west of downtown El Paso.”
Said Mexican Economy Minister Tatiana Clouthier: “We’re now not going to use Texas. We can’t leave all the eggs in one basket and be hostages to someone who wants to use trade as a political tool.”
Justices Won’t Hear Case on Illegal Contributions
“The Supreme Court is leaving in place the illegal campaign contributions conviction of Kentucky businessman and former Democratic Party chief, Jerry Lundergan,” the AP reports.
“The high court on Monday turned away Lundergan’s appeal of his conviction.”
Biden Wants to Make Midterms More About Trump
Politico: “President Joe Biden and his team are hoping to spend the spring and summer months drawing sharp distinctions with Republicans, one in particular. They still plan to push forth revived pieces of stalled agenda. But they’re also eagerly awaiting potentially explosive findings from the Jan. 6 select committee and hope those discoveries can inflame a battle brewing within the GOP over former Trump’s legacy and power.”
“The goal of turning the election into a contrast may be straightforward. But the execution is another matter entirely. Previous efforts to reframe the conversation have failed, as the White House has been overtaken by outside forces, leaving the president unable to stay on message and Democrats frustrated with a lack of direction coming from the West Wing. And a number of outside groups and Democratic advisers have been baffled by a lack of coordination on key issues. Four Democrats close to the White House said that officials there do not frequently provide surrogate talking points — a key component for any political operation to stay on message.”
J.D. Vance Has Small Lead Heading Into Primary
A new Trafalgar Group poll in Ohio finds J.D. Vance leading the Republican U.S. Senate primary with 26%, followed by Matt Dolan at 22%, Josh Mandel at 21%, Mike Gibbons at 13% and Jane Timken at 6%.
Idaho Republican Won’t Work to Increase Voter Turnout
Idaho Secretary of State candidate Mary Souza (R) said she would not support increasing voter turnout if elected to the state’s top elections role, the Idaho Press reports.
Said Souza: “I have a different look at that. I do not think that it is the secretary of state’s or even the county clerk’s role to increase turnout for any one party or even turnout in general. That is the role of the partisan groups, the special interest groups, people who are very supportive of a candidate or a ballot measure. That’s what they are supposed to be doing.”
