Colorado Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert is now locked in a toss-up fight for reelection as the right-wing firebrand is getting clobbered in the fundraising race by a Democratic rival who came nearly 600 votes of ousting her in the midterms. The non-partisan Cook Report downgraded the controversial Trump-loving lawmaker’s seat to “lean Republican” as repeat challenger Adam Frisch continues to build momentum in the western Colorado swing district. “Boebert (has) avoided taking any steps to moderate her image since coming within 546 votes of losing to (Frisch),” Cook analyst Dave Wasserman wrote i...
On July 17, the New York Times published a disturbing article by Jonathan Swan, Charlie Savage and Maggie Haberman that details former President Donald Trump and his allies' plans to give the U.S. federal government a major makeover if he wins the 2024 election. The journalists reported that the Trump campaign envisions a "sweeping expansion of presidential power over the machinery of government" that would greatly undermine the United States' system of checks and balances in 2025.
The Times' report came at a time when Trump is facing two criminal indictments: a 37-count prosecution by special counsel Jack Smith and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and a 34-count New York State prosecution by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Jr. And more indictments may be coming soon: Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results are the focus of criminal investigations by Smith for DOJ and Fulton County DA Fani Willis for the State of Georgia.
On his Truth Social platform, Trump announced that he had received a "target letter" from the DOJ in connection with Smith's 2020 election/January 6, 2021 probe — indicting that another indictment is likely.
University of Baltimore law professor and former federal prosecutor Kimberly Wehle examines these developments in an article published by the conservative website The Bulwark on July 20. And she has a warning: These indictments may be the last chance to hold Trump accountable for his actions and save the United States from full-fledged authoritarianism.
"Whatever the downsides of four more years of Joe Biden, it is clear that American democracy cannot survive another Trump presidency," Wehle warns. "To understand why, one need only glance at another vital piece of recent reporting by the New York Times that Trump and his allies intend to fundamentally reshape the office of the presidency if they regain the White House in 2024. Russell T. Vought, head of the Office of Management and Budget under Trump, summed it up succinctly: 'What we’re trying to do is identify the pockets of independence and seize them.' If this sounds scary, it should."
Wehle continues, "This plan is not entirely new. Thirteen days before the 2020 presidential election, Trump issued an executive order to remake large swaths of the federal workforce. Secretly developed over the preceding six months, it aimed to reassign tens of thousands of civil servants with influence over federal policy as 'Schedule F' employees, stripping them of employment protections in order to render them vulnerable to at-will termination by the president…. Under current law, presidents appoint around 4000 people to government roles during their administration, and those employees can legally operate as de facto loyalists. Schedule F would increase that number to as many as 50,000."
The law professor notes that although Schedule F was "rescinded" after Joe Biden was sworn in as president in January 2021, Trump "could bring it back if reelected in 2024."
Responding to the Times' article, MSNBC's Joy Reid slammed Trump's plot as a model for full-fledged authoritarianism. And The New Republic's Tori Otten described it as a "fascist plan to consolidate power."
Trump's legal problems aren't hurting him in the 2024 GOP presidential primary. Polls released during the second half of July have found him leading Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis by 35 percent (Morning Consult) or 29 percent (Quinnipiac). If this holds up, 2024 is likely to see a Biden/Trump rematch.
Wisconsin-based journalist Bill Lueders, in an article published by The Bulwark on July 20, stresses that GOP reactions to Trump's legal problems have been totally "unhinged" — with everyone from House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California) to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) and Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colorado) angrily railing against Smith and the DOJ.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida) tweeted, "BREAKING: I will be introducing legislation to DEFUND Jack Smith's witch hunt against President Trump." And Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) tweeted, "STAND WITH TRUMP!! STAND WITH TRUMP!! Democrats KNOW they can't beat Trump in 2024, so they've weaponized the FBI YET AGAIN to try to take him down. These people will deeply regret this when Trump is BACK in the White House!!"
Lueders observes, "There is nothing unusual about these reactions. The MAGA crowd flocks to them reflexively. The filing of criminal charges against Trump — for falsifying business records, mishandling classified documents, attempting a coup and, to come, pressuring officials in Georgia to fabricate election results — corroborates their warped perception of Trump as a victim. It draws them to him even more."
United States Representative Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland) on Wednesday ridiculed the House Oversight Committee's crusade against President Joe Biden's son Hunter following the Justice Department's multi-count indictment against Chairman James Comer's (R-Kentucky) supposed key informant.
Israeli-American think tank director Gal Luft was charged with eight felonies and faces a maximum sentence of one hundred years in prison for the combined offenses.
This development has damaged the credibility of the GOP's probe of alleged Biden family corruption, for which they have provided no evidence.
Raskin, the ranking Democratic member on Oversight, noted as much during Wednesday's hearing.
"The majority's long-promised star witness turns out to be a fugitive from American justice; an arms trafficker indicted on eight federal criminal felony counts, and an unregistered foreign agent for China who tried to trade Chinese arms for Iranian oil. So I guess he's not gonna be a witness for the majority anytime soon," Raskin said.
"Well after the failed SARS reports, bank records, form 10-23," Raskin quipped, "we can conclude that this Inspector Clouseau-style quest for something that doesn't exist has turned our Committee into a theater of the absurd; an exercise in futility and embarrassment."
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) and the Republican Party have a problem on their hands: The congresswoman’s offensively headline-grabbing ways in Washington have turned her safe Republican seat into a toss-up that promises to be one of the most expensive House races in 2024 — if not in history.
In 2022, Boebert beat local businessman Adam Frisch by a mere 546 votes, but Frisch — who is angling for a rematch — continues to lap her in fundraising for the 2024 cycle.
With a haul of more than $2.6 million for the second quarter, Frisch raked in more than three times Boebert’s roughly $818,000, which she says is because Democrats want to “buy this seat.”
“Democrats would love to have my scalp. They won’t get it,” Boebert told Raw Story. “I’ve got a job to do. Not worried.”
If Boebert isn’t worried yet, Democrats say she should open her eyes. Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and the GOP’s tenuous hold on power is dependent on a mere four seat majority. While Democratic party leaders see their easiest path back to the majority winding through states like New York, California or even North Carolina, a pickup is a pickup. And Colorado’s 3rd District is a prime target.
“Democrats can capture it. Obviously, we're down by four seats, so if we can win one seat, that would be very important to win that seat,” Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) told Raw Story.
During last year’s midterms, Boebert and Frisch combined raised upward of $16 million – the seventh most of any House race nationwide, according to OpenSecrets.
While Frisch took a few months off, he ramped up his 2024 fundraising in February 2023.
Boebert now has$1.44 million cash on hand to Frisch’s$2.49 million, as of June 30. If he keeps up at this pace, he’ll obliterate his midterm fundraising totals, which has senior Democrats such as DeGette smiling.
“Adam Frisch really represents that district quite well. He's moderate. He's a businessman, and I think he'd be great for the third season: fundraising. He never stopped,” DeGette said.
Earlier this year, Boebert was one of a handful of Freedom Caucus members who heckled and booed President Joe Biden during his State of the Union address. Last month, she introduced articles of impeachment against Biden. Boebert is also embroiled in a spat with another far-right congresswoman — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) — who recently called her a “little bitch” on the House floor.
That’s only helped Frisch.
“Fundraising’s not hard when you're in that position,” DeGette said.
Frisch says he has received donations from Democrats in all 50 states. But Republicans say all of Frisch’s outside money will only help Boebert.
“She'll do better this time,” Richard Hudson (R-NC), chairman of the National Republican Campaign Committee told Raw Story. “I’m confident she’ll be reelected, because she works her district.”
While Boebert’s fundraising is lagging behind, the NRCC says it’s prepared to step up and help her.
“Absolutely. We support our incumbents. We’re a member organization,” Hudson said. “That's always been a race on our target list, that we're concerned about and we'll continue to do everything we need to do to help her get reelected.”
Colorado Democrats aren’t counting Boebert out, even as they say she’s in trouble with independent-minded voters in the state.
“She's proven she can fundraise, she's got charisma, but she's tied herself very closely to the MAGA side of the Republican Party and in large parts of Colorado that's not popular,” Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) told Raw Story. “Even on the Western Slope it’s not popular in large portions.”
Hickenlooper also points out that Frisch still has a primary to win. While there’s little competition at the moment, the former governor expects Grand Junction Mayor Anna Stout to challenge Frisch, which he says will only strengthen Democrat’s chances against Boebert in 2024 – regardless of whether she faces Frisch
“Who knows how good Frisch is? He's only run one campaign,” Hickenlooper said. “There's gonna be a primary, and Frisch certainly has a huge head start. He’s got that network put together, and I think Frisch demonstrated that he's got a story to tell. He's got a vision of what he thinks that district needs in representation.”
A top Georgia Republican party leader has split with one of the state’s most high-profile – and controversial – political figures.
Brian K. Pritchard, the newly elected first vice-chair of the Georgia GOP, said on his online show Friday that he’s “through” with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene after the congresswoman’s ongoing support for the Republican establishment at the expense of her ultraconservative allies, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Pritchard is a conservative talk radio host who last month was among a group of election deniers elected to the state GOP’s top leadership posts.
Pritchard on Friday cited Greene’s expulsion from the right-wing Freedom Caucus and an incident with Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) in which Greene reportedly called her colleague a “little b----” for his condemnation of Greene.
“I’m through with her. I’m through,” Pritchard said on his online show.
“Marjorie Taylor Greene now says she likes being a ‘free agent.’ Well guess what Marjorie, have at it,” he said, comparing Greene’s fight with U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., to “a high school girl who went to the bathroom to smoke.”
Greene’s comment in support of the debt limit deal in which she said that unlike some of her ultraconservative allies she doesn’t live in a “conservative fantasy land” angered Pritchard, The AJC reports.
“If your member of Congress voted against the debt ceiling. Everything coming out of this woman’s mouth is a direct shot at your member of Congress,” he said.
Pritchard speculated that Greene is moderating her stated views in order to run for the Senate in 2026.
He said she “turned her back on MAGA and turned her back on the people of the 14th District.”
“I’ve had it. I tried, But this is it,” he said. “Every single [expletive] thing that comes out of your mouth is an attack on my congressman. Who do you think you are?”
In June, members of the House Freedom Caucus voted to remove Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) from the group — and not for being a far-right conspiracy theorist.
One factor was reportedly the animosity between Greene and Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colorado). Another was Greene's alliance with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California), who Freedom Caucus members view as not being MAGA enough.
The Freedom Caucus, founded in 2015 during then-President Barack Obama's second term, has always been big on litmus tests. Now, according to Politico's Olivia Beavers, members are competing to succeed Freedom Caucus leader Scott Perry (R-Pennsylvania) after his time in that position ends.
The possibilities, Beavers reports in an article published on July 17, include Rep. Bob Good (R-Virginia), Rep. Chip Roy (Texas), Rep. Dan Bishop (North Carolina), Rep. Ralph Norman (South Carolina), and Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio).
Beavers explains, "The Freedom Caucus board will likely decide who takes over, but the famously fractious and anti-leadership group is paying especially close attention this time to how chair candidates plan to deal with Speaker Kevin McCarthy's team. Perry has faced a particularly turbulent year so far, managing the Freedom Caucus as it split over the January speakership vote and later held an unprecedented vote to evict Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene."
Bishop told Politico that he is "not ruling out" running for Freedom Caucus leader, but said he is "more likely" to run for North Carolina attorney general.
Boebert told Politico, "Some qualifying factors, obviously, are their position on votes and policies, but also, how they can communicate that position and get the rest of the team on board. So, you have to have a leader who can unify everyone and get them on the same page without being unreasonable."
One far-right congressman who has managed to remain in good standing with both the House Freedom Caucus and Speaker McCarthy is Caucus Vice Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who is also House Judiciary Committee chairman.
Jordan expressed no preference for a Perry successor, telling Politico, "I'm sure it will be somebody good."
Employees of Twitter Africa who were laid off after cost-cutting measures went into effect after Elon Musk took over the platform have not received any severance pay, CNN reported.
“They literally ghosted us,” one former Twitter Africa employee said. “Although Twitter has eventually settled former staff in other locations, Africa staff have still been left in the lurch despite us eventually agreeing to specific negotiated terms.”
The employees, who were based in the Ghanaian capital Accra, reluctantly accepted an offer of three months' severance pay without benefits.
“Twitter was non-responsive until we agreed to the three months because we were all so stressed and exhausted and tired of the uncertainty, reluctant to take on the extra burdens of a court case so we felt we had no choice but to settle,” another former employee told CNN.
When CNN reached out to Twitter for comment, it received an automated response in the form of a poop emoji -- which Musk tweeted in March would be the standard response to all press inquiries.
“Unfortunately, it appears that after having unethically implemented their terminations in violation of their own promises and Ghana’s laws, dragging the negotiation process out for over half a year, now that we have come to the point of almost settlement, there has been complete silence from them for several weeks,” said Carla Olympio, who is an attorney who is representing the former employees.
Legendary singer-songwriter Elton John took the stand on Monday, along with his husband David Furnish, to give details at the London sexual assault trial of actor Kevin Spacey, reported The Daily Beast.
The pair conferenced in from Monaco to the trial, where Spacey stands accused of 12 charges of assaulting four men in the United Kingdom over a span of 12 years starting in 2001.
"John was asked about Spacey’s attendance at a charity gala ball held at the singer’s home in Windsor for almost 20 years after one of the complainants said Spacey assaulted him as he was driving the actor to the gala in 2004 or 2005," reported Dan Ladden-Hall. According to the report, John told the court that he recalled Spacey went to stay at his home after one of the events — but that “I can’t remember him coming down after that.” John added that he didn't recognize one of the complainants outside a London theater, but that he wouldn't expect to because he was in a "mad rush" to return to his car after the event.
Spacey has denied accusations of "aggressive" sexual behavior and has called the charges against him "weak."
Prosecutors have argued that he has a pattern as a "sexual bully." One accuser said he kissed his neck and told him to "be cool." A police interview of one other accuser alleged that at an event in London, Spacey, disheveled and reeking of alcohol, grabbed his crotch "like a cobra." Another accuser said Spacey assaulted him while they were traveling in a car and it made him "almost [drive] off the road."
Spacey has also been accused of sexual misconduct in the United States. However, he was held not liable in a 2022 lawsuit that accused him of molesting actor Anthony Rapp as a teenager.
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) squeaked out a razor-thin victory during the 2022 midterm elections, but that hasn't led her to reconsider he brash and confrontational approach to politics.
NBC News reports that some Republicans are concerned about Boebert heading into 2024, with Democratic rival Adam Frisch seeking a rematch after losing last year by fewer than 600 votes.
One Republican lawmaker tells NBC that Boebert needs to stop acting like herself in order to ensure she gets reelected next year.
"Her ass needs to get home to go campaign," the lawmaker said. "Cut ribbons, go to bar mitzvahs and take credit for stuff she had absolutely nothing to do with."
Dick Wadhams, the former chairman of the Colorado Republican Party, tells NBC that many Republicans in Colorado are "bewildered" by her approach of maximizing controversy on culture-war issues and picking fights with fellow Republicans, despite the fact that voters in her district have signaled that they are growing tired of that approach.
“The perception, whether it’s fair or not, is that Congresswoman Boebert has paid more attention to fighting these battles within the Republican Party than she has paid attention to the district,” he said. “Now, I’m sure her office would refute that. The trouble is it gets obscured by how she conducts herself. And that’s what she’s battling right now.”
Democrat Frisch zeroed in on such criticisms of Boebert during an interview with NBC.
"“People want the circus to stop,” he said. “She’s one of these people that continues to love to get on Twitter and cable news networks and yell and scream.”
Their feud triggered the expulsion of Greene from the right-wing Freedom Caucus after she called Boebert a "little b*tch" to her face, but other GOP lawmakers say the acrimony is palpable, reported The Daily Beast.
“A fistfight could break out at any moment,” said Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN), who made clear he was serious, but compared the situation to "professional wrestling." “I am friends with both of them. It’s entertaining to think that a fistfight could break out at any movement. I kind of dig that."
Another GOP lawmaker close to both women said the situation wasn't sustainable and that one of them would destroy the other -- but couldn't predict the outcome.
“They will be nailing that coffin shut and one of them is still in there kicking and screaming,” that lawmaker said.
Greene has refused to accept a phone call from Freedom Caucus chairman Scott Perry (R-PA) notifying her of the expulsion, and instead has suggested a conversation on the House floor, according to multiple sources, but the Georgia Republican is apparently upset that her expulsion came in a hastily called meeting.
“We were advised that there was an unscheduled meeting being scheduled, but there was no — I didn’t receive any kind of specific advisement on what was going to be discussed at that meeting,” said Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA), a Greene ally.
Other caucus members declined to comment on the meeting or discuss whether Greene had been given an opportunity to defend herself.
“I’m not interested in that bullsh*t,” said Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO).
A lawmaker familiar with the situation told The Daily Beast that Boebert had initially seconded a motion at that meeting to allow Greene to remain in the caucus, but she later voted for her expulsion along with an “overwhelming” number of Freedom Caucus members.
Boebert refused to comment, while Greene declined to discuss specifics and bristled at the line of questioning.
“Dude, do you do anything besides report on complete drama and bullsh*t?” Greene said. “No, I’m serious.”
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) said there is "moral decay" in America because the country's leaders "traded truth for a lie."
While speaking to the Turning Point Action Conference on Sunday, Boebert told the group of activists that their work had helped to pass a bill to rescind restrictions on pistol braces. President Joe Biden has vowed to veto the bill.
"Let's make this very clear," she ranted. "You're not a felon because you add a piece of plastic to a firearm. You're an American and now a damn good marksman. They want you disarmed because they don't see you as free people. They see you as subjects."
"And that's why I have put my life on hold," she added, "and left my four boys and my grandson to make sure that you have a voice across this nation to take a stand for your rights and your liberties."
"I love that you won't back down and you confront lies with truth," she said. "That is what we need. There has been a moral decay in our country because too many of our leaders have traded the truth for a lie. But you speaking up and exposing that and speaking truth to power is changing the tides."
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has been thrown out of the far-right House Freedom Caucus. But according to the Wall Street Journal, she is defiant — and even publicly saying it's a good thing for her.
“I think I enjoy being a free agent a lot better,” Greene told reporters, adding that while she agreed with the Freedom Caucus ideologically, she is “interested in getting accomplishments done, not doing things just to disrupt and fight leadership. And that’s a major difference.”
Notably, while Greene is saying she is happy about the expulsion now, her behavior over the previous few days suggests otherwise. She told reporters earlier this week she had not been told anything about being ousted from the Freedom Caucus, but other reports suggested she was actually avoiding calls from other members of the Freedom Caucus so that they wouldn't be able to deliver the news to her and make it official.
This comes as the Freedom Caucus, which was founded nearly a decade ago as an insurgent group that challenges GOP leadership to move as far right as possible, is fractured and divided over its purpose and goals under House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).
Greene's removal from the group was triggered in part by her escalating feud with Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), which escalated in recent weeks to Greene calling Boebert a "b*tch" on the House floor.
But there appear to be other factors that drove the decision too. Greene is close to McCarthy, having helped him secure the votes to become Speaker in the first place. According to previous reporting from CNN's Melanie Zanona, the Freedom Caucus distrusted her closeness to House leadership, to the point that some members even held secret meetings without her to make sure she wouldn't report on what they were planning to McCarthy's team.
The cocaine recently found at the White House doesn't represent the first drug discovered there.
The Secret Service found small amounts of marijuana on the White House grounds on two separate occasions in recent years, NBC News reports.
The drug was found on both occasions by uniformed officers and reports were subsequently filed but no charges were brought because the amount of marijuana found was below the limit under Washington D.C. law at the time, Secret Service officials said, according to the report.
Kelly O'Donnell and Rebecca Shabad write for NBC News that, “The individuals were notified they could not bring the marijuana to the White House campus, the officials said.”
The report follows the agency’s discovery of a small baggie containing a white substance on the White House grounds over the July weekend later determined to be cocaine.
The Secret Service notified members of Congress about the discovery of marijuana in the White House during a classified briefing over the cocaine probe, Fox News reports.
"No one was arrested in these incidents, because the weight of the marijuana confiscated did not meet the legal threshold for federal charges or D.C. misdemeanor criminal charges, as the District of Columbia had decriminalized possession," a Secret Service spokesperson told Fox News. "The marijuana was collected by officers and destroyed."
The marijuana was found at the White House in July and September of last year, the report said.
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), who was among those briefed by the Secret Service, appeared to be trying to make political hay from the revelation.
"We did not have scandals when President Trump was in office to this degree," Boebert told Fox News.
"And it just poses the question: What kind of people is Joe Biden bringing into the White House?" she added.
