It was essentially unavoidable that it'd be pandas that killed off Fuck You, Penguin:
The only question was when.
[And the answer, by the way, was "until tomorrow." Just in case you were panicking.]
It was essentially unavoidable that it'd be pandas that killed off Fuck You, Penguin:
The only question was when.
[And the answer, by the way, was "until tomorrow." Just in case you were panicking.]
Even as some Democrats are cheering this latest pending Trump indictment, some more moderate Republicans fear the former president will ride his mounting legal troubles back into the White House next year.
“I’m waiting for the smoke to clear, but in the short term, in the context of the Republican Party, this probably strengthens Trump, because they feel he’s being picked on,” former Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA) told Raw Story in an exclusive interview Thursday evening. “There are a group of Americans who are going to feel this is a double standard.”
Davis has history on his side. This spring, Trump saw his poll numbers shoot up after Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg dropped 34 felony counts on the former president for his alleged hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Even after Trump was found liable in May for sexually abusing writer E. Jean Carroll – as the GOP presidential primary field kept expanding — Trump’s popularity amongst his GOP base has remained historically strong.
The stakes couldn’t be higher for special counsel Jack Smith.
“You better get this right. You’re in a new area here,” Davis said. “I just have this uneasy feeling, at a time when you’re trying to keep people together and bring the country together to maybe have this guy ride into the sunset due to being prosecuted.”
Optics matter now more than ever, especially with a former president who made a name for himself on “reality” TV. That’s why Davis and others are hoping the case is tried in Florida, far away from the Beltway and all its baggage.
Trump is reportedly due to appear Tuesday in federal court in Miami, Fla.
“The more removed this indictment is from the Biden administration, the more damaging it will be to Trump,” former Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) told Raw Story in an exclusive interview Thursday evening. “Trump is already connecting the indictment to Biden, so I think choosing this venue – a Florida court where Trump actually lives, in a Republican state – I think that will make the case more damaging to Trump.”
When it comes to the GOP political class – along with the conservative media machine – Trump seemingly could get away with shooting a Democrat on Fifth Avenue. But Curbelo says the fealty of the Republican rank and file is paper thin.
“Politicians endorsing Trump, they're just protecting themselves. They see the poll numbers, they see that Trump is popular in their districts and they perceive Trump as a safe place for them to station themselves,” Curbelo said. “If Trump's numbers start coming down, they’re going to flee. A lot of these people don't even like Donald Trump.”
Still, Trump is playing the victim card – “witch hunt” this and “witch hunt” that – which has worked with his base.
That’s not likely to change any time – or potential indictment – soon, said Davis of Virginia.
“A lot of this goes to intent. I understand the subtleties, the nuances, but the public doesn’t get it. All they see is a guy who the media’s been after, the establishment’s been after forever,” Davis said.
Davis fears this could all backfire – and backfire badly.
“Remember, Hitler went to prison…that’s when he wrote Mein Kampf,” Davis said. “This is not good.”
Still, moderate Republicans are waiting for their fellow party members to come back to the party’s conservative roots. Populism can only be popular for so long, no?
“Every television show gets old at some point. And, at the end of the day, Trump is much more of a celebrity than he is a political leader,” Curbelo, of Florida, said. “Certainly, a majority of Americans are over it and ready to move on. The question is whether a majority of Republicans will get to that point. I think the weight of all these indictments and controversies will eventually tip the scales against Trump.”
On the night news broke that former President Donald Trumphas been indicted in connection with a federal probe into his alleged mishandling of classified material, the Republican National Committee blasted out a survey and fundraising email to its massive list of supporters.
It contained a message from a notable 2024 presidential candidate.
And no, not Trump.
Rather, it was former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, one of Trump's GOP primary opponents, who's previously said the former president has no future in the Republican Party.
"It’s more important than ever that we stand up for our founding ideas and American values. That means defending capitalism, protecting freedom, and ensuring American security," wrote Haley, who directed recipients to fill out a "top secret" and "confidential" survey that asked questions about matters such as inflation, critical race theory, and securing the Southern border.
Complete the survey, and Haley and the RNC prompt you to make a donation that will "benefit RNC and Nikki Haley for President."
The timing of the Haley/RNC fundraising message — while decidedly curious — wasn't tied to Trump's indictment, but instead, a case of coincidental pre-scheduling, a person familiar with the email's distribution told Raw Story.
Republican National Committee / Nikki Haley for President fundraising email from the night former President Donald Trump was federally indicted. (Email screenshot)
Reached late Thursday night, RNC spokesperson Emma Vaughn told Raw Story that "we are already fundraising with other GOP presidential candidates." In recent weeks, GOP candidates Vivek Ramaswamy and Mike Pence — although Pence wasn't yet declared at the time — teamed with the RNC on similar fundraising emails.
Vaughn also noted the RNC on Thursday night sent a Trump-themed text message to supporters that led them to a donation page that in part declared, "We're witnessing what seems to be an unprecedented WITCH HUNT against President Trump, and we can't afford to have Patriotic Americans like YOU sit on the sidelines any longer."
The donation page, however, did not provide an option to split a donation with Trump's 2024 presidential campaign — money would only go to the RNC.
Trump is slated to travel to Miami, Fla., on Tuesday to respond to the charges. Trump has already been arraigned in a separate criminal matter in New York City, where he is charged with 34 felony counts that involve allegedly falsifying business records in connection to hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
Trump denies any wrongdoing.
"I AM AN INNOCENT MAN!" he said Thursday night.
Donald Trump is facing the legal challenge of his life with a legal team that reportedly isn't up for the job.
That's according to national security attorney Brad Moss, who said Thursday night during an appearance on MSNBC’s “The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell” that Trump's legal team lacks the chops to compete against the Department of Justice in the case over the handling of classified documents, in which the former president confirmed he has been indicted.
“So I've heard various defenses, most of which I'll say sound somewhat like political talking points masquerading as legal defenses, but there are some points they make that they will certainly raise and that have to be considered,” Moss said.
“Whether or not these were records that were improperly removed in terms of the Presidential Records Act, whether or not it qualifies as National Defense Information, if there is the requisite intent when it comes to obstruction and things along those lines. Those are going to be points that the government is certainly going to have the burden to demonstrate…at trial itself, if it gets that far, and that the Trump team will certainly be able to pick apart and try to beat down as any defense attorney would do."
“But in terms of substance, and I was watching the parliamentary interview from last night that you had on and I’ve watched what James Trusty has done, I haven't heard anything substantive that makes me really think that this legal team gets what it's facing.”
Moss said the dearth of experience on Trump’s legal team is a surprise to him.
“You would think a former president, especially one with Donald Trump's kind of money, you'd be expecting top notch A-list, best-of-the-best criminal defense lawyers, you'd be expecting constitutional scholars, national security experts. I'm just not seeing it. You had Evan Corcoran, and he got pushed out because of the grand jury stuff and James Trusty has experience but he's just one man."
"Who else is on this team that is really going to be qualified to handle this? They are completely in over their head, and I think if you're Donald Trump tonight, you're realizing I got more or less a D-list legal team and now I'm paying the price for it."
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