Newly unearthed call logs show that Republican state legislators in Georgia were eager and willing to help former President Donald Trump toss out their state's 2020 election results.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that call logs unearthed by the House Select Committee investigating the January 6th Capitol riots show that Trump's campaign called more than 100 GOP state legislators to gauge their support for organizing a slate of fake presidential electors who would back Trump instead of President Joe Biden, who won the Peach State in 2020 by nearly 12,000 votes.
According to the AJC's analysis, roughly 30 of the lawmakers contacted by the Trump team expressed support for the plan, and replied to the campaign's overtures with messages such as "hell yes," "100%," and "very supportive and ready to go."
Some lawmakers who apparently expressed support at the time now tell the AJC that they do not think organizing a fake slate of pro-Trump electors would have been the right decision.
READ MORE: George Santos set up a shady recount fund in a fit of 'jealousy': report
“I do think there were some issues with the election,” Georgia State Rep. Kasey Carpenter told the newspaper. “But that was not the way to go.”
The organization of fake electors was used by the House Select Committee in its final report to argue that Trump and his allies had engaged in a criminal conspiracy to defraud the United States in the wake of losing the 2020 election.
Trump and his associates are currently being investigated by special counsel Jack Smith for their efforts to keep him in power after he lost the 2020 election to President Joe Biden.
Attorney Norm Pattis will defend a second member of the Proud Boys against charges stemming from the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Pattis notified the court this month that he will be representing Zach Rehl. The attorney already works for fellow Proud Boy Joe Biggs.
Rehl, head of the Philadelphia Proud Boys chapter, was convicted on seditious conspiracy charges along with Biggs and Henry "Enrique" Tarrio. They could spend up to 20 years in prison.
Pattis is facing a six-month law license suspension for misconduct while defending conspiracy theorist Alex Jones in the Sandy Hook trial. The court has ruled that he can continue practicing law while the suspension is being appealed.
Lawfare's Roger Parloff said it was unusual for Rehl to hire Pattis because of a potential conflict of interest.
"In interview with me, Pattis concedes this is 'unusual' but says he's discussed with both Rehl & Biggs the potential conflicts & each has waived any conflict," Parloff noted on Twitter. "Says he's discussed with govt, too, and they 'appear to take the view that it's a waivable conflict.'"
"My own view is that this is still weird," he added. "At sentencing a lawyer will often argue why his client is less culpable than the other defendants. Obviously Pattis can't do that now. And, at least prior to the videos coming out suggesting that Rehl pepper sprayed police."
A treatment that involves genetically modifying the body's own immune cells has been found to cut the risk of disease progression by 74 percent in people with a rare type of blood cancer, results showed Monday.
Ciltacabtagene autoleucel -- also known by its trade name Carvykti -- was tested in a clinical trial involving 419 patients with multiple myeloma, whose disease was not responsive to the current frontline drug lenalidomide, a chemotherapy medicine.
"Lenalidomide has become a foundation of care for people with myeloma, but as its use has expanded, so has the number of patients whose disease will no longer respond to the treatment," said oncologist Oreofe Odejide at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual meeting where results were presented.
Ciltacabtagene autoleucel "delivers remarkably effective outcomes compared to patients' current options" and "can be used safely earlier in the treatment phase," added Odejide, an expert who was not part of the research.
Multiple myeloma affects a type of white blood cells called plasma cells, and can cause cascading harms to the bones, kidneys, and immune health.
It affects seven people out of 100,000 every year, according to the Cleveland Clinic, with 100,000 people impacted in the United States. There is currently no cure, though progression can be stopped for a long time.
Risk increases with age, with men more likely to be affected than women, and Black people at higher risk than other races. Not everyone requires immediate treatment and the disease may be monitored if it is slow growing.
In the new clinical trial, half the patients were randomly assigned ciltacabtagene autoleucel, while the other half received a cocktail of drugs that represents the current standard of care, including chemotherapy and steroids.
"After a median follow-up of 16 months, the researchers found that ciltacabtagene autoleucel reduced the risk of disease progression by 74 percent, compared with the standard-of-care treatments," a press statement said.
Ciltacabtagene autoleucel is a type of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, a newer form of treatment.
CAR T-cell therapy involves removing the patient's disease fighting T cells, and genetically engineering them in a lab so they have specific proteins known as receptors that, once returned to the body, will seek out and destroy cancer cells.
Nearly all the patients in both groups experienced severe to life-threatening adverse events, including infections and low blood cell counts.
Three-quarters of patients on ciltacabtagene autoleucel developed Cytokine release syndrome, in which the immune system is sent into overdrive. It can affect multiple organs and cause death.
Around five percent of patients on ciltacabtagene autoleucel developed immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS), which affects a person's nervous system.
Next, the researchers will continue to follow the study participants to determine long-term effects and impacts on quality of life.
The clinical trial was funded by Janssen Research & Development and Legend Biotech USA.
© Agence France-Presse
Attorneys for Donald Trump Monday morning entered the U.S. Dept. of Justice, as expectations grow the ex-president could soon be charged in his unlawful removal, retention, and refusal to return hundreds of classified and top secret documents.
CBS News chief election and campaign correspondent Robert Costa reports sources say Special Counsel Jack Smith its expected to reach a decision on charging Trump in the case soon.
"Trump’s lawyers just spotted by @CBSNews entering the Justice Department, per @RobLegare who is on site," Costa tweeted at 10:09 AM ET. He says that "comes as sources tell me the special counsel is moving toward a charging decision in the classified documents case."
Citing sources, Costa adds, "Trump’s lawyers are expected to raise concerns about how prosecutors have handled atty-client questions during the grand jury but there is no sign the special counsel is going to waver from how he and his team have handled the crime-fraud exception…"
Trump's attorneys being at DOJ is a possible sign the Special Counsel could be close to asking a grand jury to bring charges against the one-term, twice impeached ex-president who is currently facing 34 felonies in an unrelated New York case.
"Often defense attorneys are given the opportunity to 'pitch' the DOJ before a charging decision is made," former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti notes. "Trump’s team visiting DOJ likely means that we won’t see charges in the next few days—as their pitch is considered—but could potentially see charges in the next 5 to 15 days."
The Special Counsel's grand jury is reportedly reconvening this week.
Legal experts and Trump watchers have been expecting the ex-president to be charged as soon as this week, after CNN reported Special Counsel Jack Smith had an audio recording of Trump admitting to holding on to a classified document, described by some as "war plans" against Iran. In that audio Trump reportedly also said he knew the document was classified, and said he wished he could share it, which destroys multiple claims he has made in his defense of retaining the documents.
That document is still missing, and the Pentagon appears greatly concerned about the document.
On Sunday night Trump lashed out at Smith, calling him, the DOJ, and the FBI all "Marxist," and described the investigation into his possibly illegal handling of classified documents as the "boxes hoax."
This is a breaking news and developing story. Details may change.
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