The classic Raw Story is available until Nov 20

'Horton Hears a Coup': Former prosecutor slams Trump's 'clownish' Dr. Seuss motion

ALSO READ: 'Mad at Schumer': Progressive uprising leaves Hakeem Jeffries largely unscathed

'Horton Hears a Coup': Former prosecutor slams Trump's 'clownish' Dr. Seuss motion
Former President Donald Trump (image via Nicholas Kamm/AFP).

Donald Trump's legal team is embarrassing itself with a recent filing in the D.C. criminal case the former president is facing, a former prosecutor said.

Team Trump compared Special Counsel Jack Smith to the "Grinch" in a recent filing in the case, which is being overseen by Judge Chutkan, because the prosecutor sought an expedited schedule the defense said that would make them work through Christmas. Smith filed a reply, saying that he's no Grinch and that, "If the Court today enters a briefing order consistent with the Government’s request, the defendant’s brief would be due no later than December 23."

Now, former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner is tearing Trump's grinchy filing apart.

Kirschner calls the motion "clownish," and says, "If they felt compelled to cite Dr. Seuss, they should have chosen one that more accurately describes the state of affairs. Perhaps: Horton Hears a Coup."

ALSO READ: A Christmas wish: Republican immigration policy worthy of Baby Jesus

"In the event you thought Donald Trump's defense attorneys couldn't get any more inappropriate, outrageous, absurd? Hang on, here is some new reporting," Kirschner says before reading a news report from NBC about the motion citing the Grinch.

"No, Jack Smith is not trying to stop Christmas from coming. Jack Smith is trying to hold Donald Trump accountable for the most egregious democracy-busting crimes by a president in our nation's history," the ex-prosecutor said in a video posted to social media on Friday. "Because even during the holiday season, justice matters."

Watch the video below or click here.

For customer support contact support@rawstory.com. Report typos and corrections to corrections@rawstory.com.

Terrified Ted Cruz seethes over Dems' 'dirty trick' making his 'blood boil'

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is up in arms about Alaska’s Senate race, and his blood is boiling.

In an email sent on Friday under Cruz’s name by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the Texas Republican claimed “just hundreds of votes” separate Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) and Democratic challenger Mary Peltola.

“That’s not a lead. That’s a coin flip,” the email said. “We cannot afford to lose one more conservative voice in the Senate.”

Peltola is actually ahead by 5,800 votes in the nation’s last uncalled Senate race, according to The Associated Press. With 88 percent of the vote counted, she has 49.08 percent of first-choice votes.

Cruz pinned the blame on a second candidate on the ballot, independent Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.

“Here’s what makes my blood boil: Democrats played a dirty trick in this race,” Cruz wrote. “They recruited a second ‘Dan Sullivan’ to get on the ballot, a fake candidate with the same name with ties to the Democrats meant to confuse voters and pull votes away from the real one.”

“If the fake weren’t in this race, Dan would be leading right now,” he added.

The numbers don’t back that up. Even if every one of Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.’s 4,199 votes went to the senator, Peltola would still lead by about 1,600, according to the AP count. A New York Times analysis also found that Peltola, not the incumbent, was the second choice for most of Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.’s voters. That suggests few of them meant to vote for the senator.

Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. drew fewer votes than Gerald Heikes, a long-shot Republican in the race who has 5,490.

The alleged scheme traces back to an Oct. 28 New York Times report. It alleged that people working for Peltola’s campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee recruited people named Dan Sullivan to confuse voters. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) has opened a Senate investigation, and the FBI and Justice Department are reportedly reviewing the matter.

The Trump administration’s Justice Department also sued to block Alaska from certifying the race if Sullivan lost, arguing that Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.’s name would confuse voters. U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason threw out the suit, finding the government offered “no workable plan” to investigate voter intent while keeping ballots secret. The DOJ has appealed.

Cruz said he campaigned for Sullivan in Alaska before Election Day because “I knew what they were up to.”

Alaska is set to release another batch of results Friday night. They could show whether Peltola clears 50 percent and wins outright, or whether the race goes to ranked choice tabulation.

THANKS FOR SUBSCRIBING! ALL ADS REMOVED!

Shock as national plane grounding comes after union left out of safety tests

Reactions were mounting on Friday after the Federal Aviation Administration issued a rare nationwide ground stop for all flights in the United States, citing "extraordinary circumstances" and safety concerns.

The FAA cited a communications issue amid reports that the agency had started using a new AI tool. This is the third time the FAA has grounded all national flights; the first was on Sept. 11, 2001. A second time was in 2023 during a system outage.

Secretary Sean Duffy shared a statement on social media and updates on the situation.

"The @FAAnews issued a nationwide ground stop for all U.S. airports following a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers. FAA technicians are investigating the issue. We will provide immediate updates as we have them," Duffy wrote.

The news drew responses on social media.

Marcy Wheeler, a national security journalist, pointed out the timing in a post on Bluesky.

"Yesterday," Wheeler wrote, sharing an Ars Technica report from Thursday indicating that a union representing the air traffic controllers had not had the opportunity to weigh in on or test the new technology.

CNN's Hadas Gold reported officials said it was not tied to a national security concern.

"Law enforcement sources tell my colleagues preliminary reports indicate this is NOT a cyberattack via @evanperez @HBRabinowitz," Gold wrote on X.

Rapper Flavor Flav was at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and shared on update on Bluesky.

"Ground stop will be 'multiple hours' This has been Flavor Flav from the Atlanta Airport. And now to Chuck D from JFK," he wrote on Bluesky.

Others also reacted.

"Key lawmakers are in the dark at the moment about the ground stop. FAA has been reaching out but they do not have answers thus far," Punchbowl News founder Jake Sherman wrote on X.

"Simply: Sean @SecDuffy is a moron," political commentator and former MSNBC host Keith Olbermann wrote on X.

Editor's Note: This story was updated with additional information about the FAA outage in 2023.

‘Chaos’: FAA grounds flights nationwide amid 'extraordinary circumstances'

The Federal Aviation Administration ordered a nationwide ground stop Friday, halting flight departures across the United States amid serious air traffic control communications problems.

The FAA cited “extraordinary circumstances” and “reasons of safety” and directed all departing aircraft to remain grounded until further notice. Inbound international flights would be handled on a case-by-case basis, CNN reported.

“It means chaos,” CNN’s Richard Quest said, warning of widespread disruptions for passengers already aboard planes or preparing to depart.

The disruption appeared to involve communications systems used by air route traffic control centers, although the full extent of the problem was not immediately clear.

Copyright © 2026 Raw Story Media, Inc. PO Box 21050, Washington, D.C. 20009 | Masthead | Privacy Policy | Manage Preferences | Debug Logs RS+
For corrections contact corrections@rawstory.com , for support contact support@rawstory.com .

{{ post.roar_specific_data.api_data.analytics }}