Political Wire

Bipartisan Group Seeks to Block Lifting of Title 42

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“Five Democratic and six Republican senators will introduce a new bill on Thursday that would prevent the Biden administration from lifting Title 42 without a detailed plan in place to stop an expected surge of migrants at the border,” Axios reports.

“The administration’s plans to end the Trump-era Covid-19 immigration ban by May 23 were immediately met with scathing criticism from lawmakers in both parties. They fear the announcement will trigger a mass migration event.”

“Vulnerable Democrats also worry it will create a political firestorm, and provide Republicans with fresh ammunition just months before the midterms.”

U.S. Says It Secretly Preempted Russian Cyberattacks

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“The United States said that it had secretly removed malware from computer networks around the world in recent weeks, a step to pre-empt Russian cyberattacks and send a message to President Vladimir Putin,” the New York Times reports.

“The move, made public by Attorney General Merrick Garland, comes as U.S. officials warn that Russia could try to strike American critical infrastructure — including financial firms, pipelines and the electric grid — in response to the crushing sanctions that the United States has imposed on Moscow over the war in Ukraine.”

“The malware enabled the Russians to create ‘botnets’ — networks of private computers that are infected with malicious software and controlled by the G.R.U., the intelligence arm of the Russian military.”

House Votes to Hold Two Trump Aides In Contempt

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The House voted to hold Peter Navarro, a former trade adviser, and Dan Scavino, a onetime communications aide, in contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperate with the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob, the Washington Post reports.

The vote results in criminal referrals to the Justice Department, which will decide whether to prosecute.

DeSantis Deploys Coveted Endorsements

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) “is increasingly using his clout with Republican voters to elevate political allies throughout the state, marking the first real effort to build a political network by a governor with a notoriously small inner circle,” Politico reports.

“DeSantis has already used one endorsement to scuttle the candidacy of a state lawmaker seeking a Florida Senate seat who likely would have had the backing of his own party’s leadership. The Republican governor is also sending signals he could endorse in two other races where incumbent Republican state representatives, who have the support of state Senate GOP leadership, are running.”

Judge Issues First Acquittal in Capitol Riot Case

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A federal defense contractor who admitted to entering the Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection was found not guilty on Wednesday, NBC News reports.

BuzzFeed News: “The verdict represented an early test of efforts by some Jan. 6 defendants to argue that police allowed them to enter the Capitol, or that they believed they had permission because no officer told them to stop. It’s the third trial related to Jan. 6 to finish since the insurrection.”

Cost of Living Is Dominant Issue

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A new AARP poll finds “women voters age 50 and over have one thing on their minds — kitchen table economics and the day-to-day experience of rising prices.”

Key takeaway: “Only 17% of women voters age 50 and over have decided who they will vote for in November, including 22% of Republicans, 14% of Democrats and 7% of Independents.”

Wealthy GOP Donors Form Secret Coalitions

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New York Times: “The efforts to harness the fortunes of the party’s richest activists could help it capitalize on a favorable electoral landscape headed into this year’s midterm elections, and — potentially — the 2024 presidential campaign. Conversely, the party’s prospects could be dimmed if the moneyed class invests in competing candidates, groups and tactics.”

“The willingness of donors to organize on their own underscores the migration of power and money away from the official organs of the respective parties, which are required to disclose their donors, to outside groups that often have few disclosure requirements. It also reflects a concern among some influential Republicans that the political right faces a disadvantage when it comes to nonprofit groups that support the candidates and causes of each party.”

Elite D.C. Getting Pummeled by Covid

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“Scores of reporters and elected officials have revealed — privately and publicly — in recent days that they have Covid. It’s touched Congress, the White House and major newsrooms. It’s impacted going-away parties and insider gatherings. It’s cast a shadow over the functions of President Joe Biden as well, though the White House says he remains virus-free and has not yet had what is deemed to be a close contact,” Politico report.

“The origins of the wave are unclear. But signs point to a few events that have likely contributed to the spread.”

A Midterm Landslide Is Still No Sure Thing

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Jonathan Bernstein: “It’s still hard to see the overall retirement story as signaling a collapse of Democratic resources — and candidates are an important resource — during the 2022 election cycle. That this has happened even as President Joe Biden remains unpopular and the conventional wisdom is even more settled on likely Republican gains suggests that if there is a landslide, it will be a bottom-up event driven by voters opposing Biden rather than a top-down defeat caused by Democrats’ disarray, hostility toward their own incumbents, or just plain fatigue.”

“To be sure: If Biden remains unpopular, Democrats will suffer in November. But if not, I’m not seeing any strong evidence of an already-built-in Republican landslide.”

Court Orders Capitol Riot Defense Lawyer Disbarred

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“A Virginia state court has disbarred Jonathon Moseley, an attorney who has represented a slew of high-profile Jan. 6 defendants, including a member of the Oath Keepers charged with seditious conspiracy, as well as several targets of the House select committee investigating the attack on the Capitol,” Politico reports.

Why Tracking Putin’s Wealth Is So Difficult

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New York Times: “But the British court document also holds a clue to why it has been so hard to clearly connect the Russian president to his rumored riches. The yacht, called the Olympia, was managed by a company in Cyprus, where corporation filings show that the true owner was not Mr. Putin — it was the Russian government.”

“Indeed, it is one of many extravagant assets long speculated to be Mr. Putin’s that actually are owned or controlled by the state, showing how much the private interests of the president and his inner circle have merged with those of the government he has dominated for two decades. Others include a sprawling resort, a fleet of expensive automobiles, fancy planes and still more yachts.”

About Political Wire

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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