James Bopp, Jr., the lawyer representing Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in today's hearing about whether she should be disqualified from running for reelection because of her actions regarding the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection, may not be a household name to most but he previously has had a profound impact on American politics.
That's because Bopp was the lead attorney who argued before a federal three-judge panel in 2008 that the conservative non-profit Citizens United should be able to air "Hillary: The Movie" on television during the Democratic primary.
Two years after the lower court rejected that petition, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the ruling and adopted many of Bopp's arguments, reversing 100 years of campaign-finance precedents and paved the way for virtually unlimited corporate campaign contributions.
As reported by Mother Jones, Bopp has made a career of trying to dismantle laws that limit high-dollar political contributions.
"Even before Citizens United," Mother Jones writes, "he’d won a Supreme Court ruling striking down big chunks of the McCain-Feingold campaign-finance law. He was instrumental in Bush v. Gore, and he successfully beat back a massive lawsuit from the FEC alleging that the Christian Coalition had illegally campaigned on behalf of candidates including Oliver North, Jesse Helms, and Newt Gingrich. And now he’s pursuing dozens of other cases that, if successful, could eliminate caps on political contributions, allow campaigns to hide their donors from public view, and kill public-financing laws across the nation."
Ivanka Trump is no longer helping her dad out of his difficult situation, People Magazine reported on Wednesday.
Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, were key pillars in the Donald Trump administration while he was there, but in the aftermath, Kushner scored his billions in investments from the Saudi royal fund, and published his book. After cashing in, the couple has moved on.
"Even though Ivanka loves her dad, she knows how impossible he can be," People wrote, citing "a social source." Another person close to Ivanka said that there's no tension between Trump and his children.
It's an ironic statement because, over the course of the past several months, Trump has been dropping passive-aggressive comments about heirs like his children.
IN OTHER NEWS: Idaho murder suspect's sisters lose their jobs
In one video to a group of farmers, Trump rambled on about the estate tax and how he thought he saved family farms worth over $50 million.
Trump's comments then turned to say that it was only probably applicable if they like their children. The estate tax wouldn't matter if farmers hated their children. Some people don't like their children, Trump explained.
“But if you don’t love your children so much,” he said. “And there are some people that don’t — and maybe deservedly so — it won’t matter, because, frankly, you don’t have to leave them anything. Thank you very much. Have fun.”
Then there was a rally in Iowa, in which Trump "joked" about the estate tax and "if you don't like your kids."
Political analysts think that the comments are rooted not in Trump's personal life but in poll-tested pitches to elderly voters shaking their fists at "kids these days."
The first People source claims that the first Trump daughter "is recreating her business life and raising her children which are her priorities. She is through with politics."
It matches what she's said since her father announced he was running right after the 2022 midterm elections.
"This time around, I am choosing to prioritize my young children and the private life we are creating as a family," she said in a statement."I do not plan to be involved in politics. While I will always love and support my father, going forward I will do so outside the political arena."
The two sisters of accused University of Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger have reportedly lost their jobs, due to their connection to him, Jezebel reported on Wednesday.
"Since Kohberger was arrested and charged with the gruesome stabbings of university students Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, and Ethan Chapin, his sisters Melissa and Amanda — a school counselor and actress, respectively — lost their employment because of their their relationship to him," reported Audra Heinrichs. "NewsNation also reports that while the Kohberger family stand by their son and brother, they have not visited him since he’s been detained without bail at a jail in Moscow, Idaho. In January, they issued a statement of support: 'We will love and support our son and brother.'"
"Interestingly, Kerri Rawsom, the daughter of the Dennis Rader (otherwise known as the B.T.K. killer) weighed in about Kohberger’s family paying the price for his alleged crimes, telling News Nation: 'It’s important to remember that Kohberger’s family, as far as we know at this point, are crime victims, so you have to come from that place to begin with,'" the report continued. "Basically, it’s absurd that anyone’s family members — especially those of whom the public has no understanding of their relationship to an alleged criminal — should be held accountable for a relative’s crimes."
Kohberger, a teaching assistant at Washington State University studying criminology, was identified by DNA evidence recovered at the scene of the killings, which stunned the college town of Moscow — which had not seen a murder in years — as well as unnerving the whole nation in the initial weeks that police couldn't locate a suspect.
IN OTHER NEWS: 'It’s like a classic mob case — they're going to get some of these people to flip': Ex-Trump aide
He was arrested after traveling across the country to his family home in Pennsylvania, where cops saw him intensively scrubbing out his car and allegedly trying to dispose of evidence.
Investigators have not yet determined a motive, although a report earlier this year indicated he sent a direct Instagram message to one of the murdered women weeks before the crime took place.
The North Dakota State Senate this week rejected legislation to provide free school lunches to students from low-income households.
"By a 23-24 vote, the Republican-dominated Senate failed House Bill 1491 on Monday, March 27," INFORUM reported. "The proposal sponsored by Representative LaurieBeth Hager, D-Fargo, would have dedicated $6 million over the next two school years to cover K-12 students' lunch costs if their family income is less than double the federal poverty level. The House approved the bill last month."
During the debate before the measure failed, State Senator Mike Wobbema (R -24th District) coldly explained his opposition to ensuring that kids are fed.
"We talk about personal responsibility as one of the major, um, principles that the Republican Party stands on. Um, yes, I can understand kids going hungry, but is that really the problem of the school district? Is that the problem of the state of North Dakota?" Wobbema asked rhetorically.
He answered his own question.
"It's really the problem of parents being negligent with their kids if their kids are choosing to eat in the first place, which is entirely the problem that could be existing," Wobbema said. "I don't believe that it is our responsibility to carry on a program in excess of what the federal government already does. Where does it stop?"
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