Commentary: Republicans Vow to Scorch the Earth After Trump Conviction

Donald Trump

by Philip Wegmann   Spurred by the volcanic temper of their base, Republicans are now preparing to scorch the earth in the wake of former President Donald Trump’s conviction, potentially setting off a chain reaction that could fundamentally alter the American political system entirely. No one knows exactly how far…

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Rule of Lawfare: Jury Instructions from NY Judge to Manhattan Jurors in Trump ‘Hush Money’ Case Contained Made-up and Selectively Chosen Language

A New York jury found former President Donald Trump guilty on all 34 criminal counts related to falsifying business records last week, prompting outcry that New York Judge Juan Merchan, who was handpicked to handle the case and who donated to Joe Biden, committed misconduct during the trial, including how he handled the jury instructions. A CNN senior legal analyst reported that the case was full of so many legal stretches that employees of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office referred to it as the “zombie case.” Daniel Street, an attorney in Louisiana who writes about lawfare, told The Tennessee Star the jury instructions were “terrible.”

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Supreme Court Unanimously Sides with NRA in First Amendment Case Against New York Official

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor

The Supreme Court unanimously held Thursday that the National Rifle Association (NRA) “plausibly alleged” that a New York official violated its First Amendment rights, finding that government officials cannot “use the power of the State to punish or suppress disfavored expression.”

The justices allowed the NRA to pursue its First Amendment claim against former superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) Maria Vullo, vacating a lower court ruling that found the NRA failed to show Vullo “crossed the line between attempts to convince and attempts to coerce.” They held that the gun rights group has a plausible case that Vullo “violated the First Amendment by coercing regulated entities to terminate their business relationships with the NRA in order to punish or suppress gun-promotion advocacy.”

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Trump Speaks as Jury Deliberates: ‘Mother Teresa Could Not Beat These Charges’

Former President Trump addressed the media on Wednesday as the jury in his hush money trial deliberates. “Mother Teresa could not beat these charges. These charges are rigged. The whole thing is rigged. The whole country’s a mess between the borders and fake elections and you have a trial like this where the judge is so conflicted he can’t breathe,” Trump said outside of the courtroom in New York. “It’s a disgrace and I mean that. Mother Teresa could not beat those charges but we’ll see how we do.”

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While Trump Faces Felony Charges, New York-Based Clinton Campaign Only Faced Fines for Its Records Issue

Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton’s New York-based presidential campaign was hit with an administrative fine by the Federal Election Commission following the 2016 election when the FEC found the campaign misrepresented campaign expenses by describing the opposition research that produced the discredited Steele Dossier as a “legal expense.” The Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee paid $113,000 to settle the charges, the Associated Press reported.

Yet, Donald Trump faces felony charges for allegedly falsifying business records to conceal campaign violations in the same state, echoing the alleged violations in the Clinton case and indicating a double standard in how the violations were handled by investigators.

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Commentary: Trump’s Trials Don’t Hurt Him in the Polls

Donald Trump at Rally

Donald Trump is out on bail in four jurisdictions facing dozens of felony charges and it does not seem to affect his ratings in the surveys. Many people wonder why.

First of all, let me assure you that Donald Trump is not made of Teflon. Rather, he is probably the most polarizing politician on earth right now. While he does have a very enthusiastic base, a majority of Americans in almost every poll have an unfavorable opinion about him. So it’s not that the various attacks, scandals, allegations, and bad press he has faced ever since he has entered politics have not affected his ratings. They have. Remember that even on the day when he won the presidential election back in 2016, he was the most negatively seen winning presidential candidate in history.

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Trump Fundraising Surges, Outraising Biden by $25 Million, Even as Trial Limits His Campaigning

Donald Trump

Amid an ongoing criminal trial that has largely limited his ability to campaign in-person, former President Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee managed to out-fundraise President Joe Biden and the Democratic National Committee by a hefty margin in April.

Collectively, Trump and the RNC raised $76 million last month, including $50.5 million raised at a single event in Florida. By contrast, President Joe Biden and the DNC managed to raise a combined $51 million over the same period.

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