Trump's absurd pick for Attorney General

 

Donald Trump is rushing out cabinet picks, each more absurd and disastrous than the last.

All of them are categorically unqualified.

All of them are MAGA adherents from whom Trump expects — and has reason to expect — absolute fealty.

If confirmed by the Senate, all of them will be a significant threat to the American people, our democracy, our planet, and everyone on it.

Perhaps the worst pick so far — though the competition is stiff — is Matt Gaetz for Attorney General.

• Matt Gaetz is a sycophantic, degenerate buffoon.

• He is also a January 6 die-hard, an anti-voter extremist, and one of Donald Trump’s most servile henchmen in Congress. He is hostile to civil rights and environmental protections. And more.

• The House of Representatives was about to issue the reportedly damning results of an ethics investigation into Gaetz — until he resigned his seat in Congress yesterday.

• It’s actually difficult to come up with someone who would be a worse choice as our country’s top law enforcement official than Matt Gaetz.

By choosing Gaetz, Trump is trolling his own party. It’s a loyalty test: Will Senate Republicans reject Gaetz — who they know is manifestly unsuited for the job, and who they dislike intensely — or will they submit to Trump yet again?

But Gaetz is so ethically compromised — and so universally despised within Congress, even among other Republicans — that there is a real chance of blocking him.

The Senate will begin voting on whether or not to confirm Matt Gaetz and Trump’s other cabinet picks very soon after Trump is sworn in on January 20, 2025, so we have to start fighting these picks now.

To the 100 people who will be senators once Trump is president:

You must oppose the nomination of Matt Gaetz to be Attorney General. He is utterly unqualified, hostile to the Department of Justice’s core values, and a dangerous and intolerable choice to head the nation’s top law enforcement agency.

Click to add your name now.

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For justice and democracy,

- Robert Weissman & Lisa Gilbert, Co-Presidents of Public Citizen
 
 

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Matt Gaetz as AG is laughable if it weren't so horrific and dangerous

The nomination is really Trump's loyalty test of Senate Republicans: If they go along, there's nothing they won't go along with.

Robert Reich Nov 13

Friends,

Trump has nominated Rep. Matt Gaetz to serve as America’s next Attorney General.

This would be laughable were it not so utterly dangerous.

Gaetz as Attorney General would all but guarantee that Trump weaponizes the Justice Department against his enemies — past, present, and future.

Ever since Trump was first indicted, Gaetz has been defending him non-stop, alleging that the prosecutions of Trump have been politically motivated, claiming that Joe Biden is behind them, charging the Biden administration with vindictiveness toward Trump, and saying that Trump would have every right to engage in similar vengeance toward Trump’s political enemies.

In making these bogus claims, Gaetz has often used Trump’s wildly partisan and incendiary language.

I worked in the Justice Department in the years following Richard Nixon’s attempt to use the Department to prosecute and intimidate Nixon’s enemies.

To restore faith and trust in the Department, President Gerald Ford appointed Edward Levi as Attorney General. Before his appointment, Levi had been dean of the University of Chicago Law School and president of the University of Chicago.

One of Levi’s most important accomplishments was to insulate the Department of Justice from political interference by establishing a set of rules that prevented the White House from privately contacting an Attorney General or any other Justice Department officials.

How far we’ve fallen.

Gaetz, a 42-year-old congressman from Florida, has zero qualifications for being the highest law enforcement official in the land. He has never been a government attorney. He has never been a judge.

Gaetz is now under investigation by the House Ethics Committee in connection with a sex-trafficking scandal. (The Justice Department investigated Gaetz for his alleged involvement with a girl who was 17 at that time, to determine if he paid for sex in violation of federal sex-trafficking laws, but closed the investigation last year after career prosecutors were reportly unsure about the credibility of two central witnesses.)

If confirmed, Gaetz would lead the Justice Department’s more than 100,000 employees at a time when Trump’s allies are demanding a purge of career DOJ staffers who may have opposed some of Trump’s efforts during his first term or worked on cases involving Trump or his supporters.

Gaetz has defended Trump at every turn, arguing that Trump has never violated any federal laws. After Trump supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, Gaetz was defiant. “We’re ashamed of nothing,” he publicly said.

In other words, nominating Gaetz to be Attorney General is only slightly less ridiculous than nominating Vladimir Putin to be Secretary of Defense.

The key question is whether Gaetz can be confirmed by a Republican Senate.

Two key Republican moderates have already indicated they would likely vote against him. Senator Susan Collins said she was “shocked” by the nomination; Senator Lisa Murkowsi said he was not a serious contender for the job.

But Senator Lindsey Graham — a reliable weather-vane for the unscrupulous, and currently the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee — said he was surprised Trump picked Gaetz, whom he called “clever,” and predicted Gaetz would face “tough questions” at his confirmation hearing.

But Graham also said he was inclined to support presidential appointments.

Gaetz’s nomination is a really test by Trump of how far he can go in intimidating, bullying, and generating fear among Senate Republicans.

No Senate Democrat will vote for Gaetz, so Trump and his allies are seeing the Gaetz nomination as a litmus test of loyalty to Trump.

This will be the clearest signal yet of how far Republican senators are willing to do Trump’s bidding on all sorts of sensitive issues, including cutting back Social Security and giving Putin what he wants in Ukraine.

If Trump can get 51 votes for Gaetz, he can get a Senate majority for anything Trump wants to do.

in less than two weeks…

 

Our campaign is reaching a critical moment with the August primary less than two weeks away. Our team is working nonstop to get out the vote in this critical election that will determine whether or not we can hold Ron DeSantis and Ashley Moody accountable for their harmful actions, but we need to expand our GOTV operations now.

That’s where you come in.

Can you pitch in any amount you can afford to help us reach our $10,000 fundraising goal before our midnight deadline to help expand our GOTV program over the next 13 days, so we can secure the nomination and take on Ron DeSantis’ personal attorney general in the fall? 

The importance of our GOTV program cannot be overstated.

Our campaign has spent months identifying and connecting with our supporters across the state, and now it’s time to mobilize them to vote. Your support will help provide the resources we need to get as many of our supporters as possible to make their voices heard in this critical election.

Thank you for any help you can provide at this pivotal moment.

Daniel Uhlfelder









 

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Daniel is running for Attorney General because for the last 4 years, the Florida Governor and Attorney General have been more interested in bullying those they don’t agree with than helping Florida families. It is time someone finally stood up to the bullies. Daniel is the person to do just that — donate now to help power his campaign to hold Ron DeSantis and Ashley Moody accountable!

 

DONATE NOW »

 

PAID BY DANIEL UHLFELDER, DEMOCRAT, FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL

Daniel Uhlfelder for Attorney General
124 East County Highway 30-A
Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459
United States

What I’ll do on Day One:

 

Sometimes you’ll hear candidates talk about things in really vague, poll-tested terms, or discuss their grandiose plans of what they hope to accomplish during their term in office, without mentioning specifics. That’s just not who I am.

As a lawyer with more than 25 years of experience, fighting for civil rights, workers’ rights, and consumers’ rights — I have the experience to be Florida’s next attorney general, and more than that, I’ve got a plan.

before I detail what I will do on Day One, I’m asking if you can help make my Day One a reality. Can you pitch in for the first time to help provide the resources our campaign needs to compete in this must-win election against Ron DeSantis’ personal attorney general and her multi-million dollar war chest funded by far-right special interests?

We are facing many challenges, and the office of the Florida Attorney General can help — if it chooses to do so. Unfortunately, our opponent would rather help wage DeSantis’ culture wars in court and on Fox News than help the people of our state.

So, I’ll get right to it. Here’s a working list of what I plan to do on Day One if I can count on your support to be Florida’s next attorney general:

• I will establish a toll-free hotline for the people of Florida to communicate with the AG’s office about issues that are concerning to them, like being price-gouged by utility monopolies.


• I will initiate an audit of the DeSantis administration and the AG’s office, including an audit of the millions of our taxpayer dollars funneled through the AG’s office to out-of-state law firms of their friends and campaign donors.


• I will challenge the Don’t Say Gay law in court. It’s unconstitutional and explicitly targets LGBTQ+ youth and teachers. I will create a new position in the Office of Civil Rights for an attorney whose sole responsibility is challenging Don’t Say Gay and fighting anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination, task the Solicitor General to use the full resources available to the office to fight the unconstitutional law, and deny any resources that would be used to enforce this law, so no taxpayers dollars will go towards prosecuting Florida teachers for doing their jobs.


• I will initiate a task force to investigate corporations that are price gouging consumers while they rake in record profits.


• I will initiate a task force to investigate corporate polluters and hold them accountable for the damage they’re inflicting on our land and water.

This is just a start. But if I can count on your support, we can hold DeSantis and his personal attorney general accountable for their harmful actions, and help protect everyday Floridians — starting on Day One.

Thank you for your support, and if you have any ideas for additional Day One actions, please reply to this email — because, I will be the people of Florida’s attorney and will answer to you, not DeSantis.

We can restore justice and accountability to Florida — but it’s going to take all of us working together.

Daniel Uhlfelder

 

Daniel is running for Attorney General because for the last 4 years, the Florida Governor and Attorney General have been more interested in bullying those they don’t agree with than helping Florida families. It is time someone finally stood up to the bullies. Daniel is the person to do just that — donate now to help power his campaign to hold Ron DeSantis and Ashley Moody accountable!

 

DONATE MONTHLY »

 

PAID BY DANIEL UHLFELDER, DEMOCRAT, FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL

Daniel Uhlfelder for Attorney General
124 East County Highway 30-A
Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459
United States

sixty times

 

This morning, a district judge filed an injunction against Florida’s 15-week abortion ban. The injunction stopped the ban from being implemented, as the judge ruled that the explicit right to privacy enshrined in Florida’s Constitution protected the right to receive an abortion, made clear by the precedent set by the Florida Supreme Court in 1989. But within hours, the DeSantis administration filed an appeal to that ruling, re-implementing the abortion ban and the matter is now headed to the conservative Florida Supreme Court.

In 2018, when Ashley Moody was running for office, she promised voters that she would keep politics out of the office of Florida Attorney General. Now, it appears she has forgotten that promise by acting as Ron DeSantis’ personal attorney. Not only has Moody funneled millions of our taxpayer dollars to out-of-state law firms filled with friends and donors to wage these culture war battles in court, she has appeared on Fox News SIXTY TIMES over the last few months to boost her political aspirations.

I’m running for Florida Attorney General, because we need an attorney that truly serves the people — not someone who serves at the pleasure of DeSantis to wage losing culture war battles on Fox News and in court. But in order for our campaign to compete in this can’t-lose election, I’m relying on grassroots supporters like you to pitch in $5 or more right now to fight back and help provide the resources we need to win.

As Ron DeSantis and Ashley Moody wage these unconstitutional culture war battles in court that enrich their friends and donors, the people of Florida are being left by the wayside. That won’t happen under my watch. I won’t enforce any abortion ban passed by the state legislature: I will not prosecute any woman who receives this medical procedure or any doctor who performs this medical procedure. And you won’t catch me on Fox News when I should be working for the people.

With your help, we can give Ashley Moody all the time in the world to spend on Fox News when we defeat her this November.

Daniel Uhlfelder









 

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Daniel is running for Attorney General because for the last 4 years, the Florida Governor and Attorney General have been more interested in bullying those they don’t agree with than helping Florida families. It is time someone finally stood up to the bullies. Daniel is the person to do just that — donate now to help power his campaign to hold Ron DeSantis and Ashley Moody accountable!

 

DONATE MONTHLY »

 

Paid by Daniel Uhlfelder, Democrat, for Attorney General

Daniel Uhlfelder for Attorney General
124 East County Highway 30-A
Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459
United States

What the Fourth of July means to me:

 

For many families around the country, July 4th is a day to gather together in backyards, on front porches, or in public parks, to celebrate with fireworks, potato salad, hot dogs, and burgers. But let us also reflect on this moment to grapple with our nation's history, how far we've come, and the challenge of carrying the banner of freedom, justice, and equality forward as we forge ahead into an unknown future.

Our nation's evolution has not come without setbacks and new challenges from combatting old problems.

A nation that declared as a founding principle that "all men are created equal" yet enshrined slavery in its Constitution for over eighty years, just confirmed the first Black woman to the Supreme Court this past week. While that same Supreme Court, however, overturned Roe and stripped women of federal protections for abortion rights, putting the health of millions of women in peril.

Voting rights, once the province of land-owning white men, is now the right of every American with few exceptions. Here, too, we face renewed efforts to chip away at this fundamental right by extreme Republican-led state legislatures across our nation, like here in Florida.

For me, America was a refuge for my grandfather who survived Nazi concentration camps that claimed the lives of his parents and provided him the opportunity to live a full life surrounded by his loved ones. Fleeing persecution is a story familiar for many Americans, be it the gas chambers of a Nazi death camp or the lash of a slaveholder.

However, increasingly our fellow citizens believe the American Dream is becoming a relic of a bygone era; slipping away under the strain of unaffordable housing, corporations raking in record profits while people who put in a hard day’s work struggle to put food on the table after they clock out, and climate change posing an existential threat to our nation and the world we call home.

We must take control. Overcoming the obstacles Republican extremists have erected to create barriers to the ballot box is just the start. We need leaders who understand what’s at stake and will fight for a future that leaves nobody behind. This is my commitment to you. As Florida’s next attorney general I will do everything in my power to ensure that justice is served, consumers are protected, and our elected officials who abuse their power are held accountable.

I hope you will join me in celebrating this important holiday and have a safe and happy Fourth of July. Then, let's get back to work so we can overcome the challenges facing our nation, like we have so many times before.

— Daniel Uhlfelder
 

CONTRIBUTE

 

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Daniel is running for Attorney General because for the last 4 years, the Florida Governor and Attorney General have been more interested in bullying those they don’t agree with than helping Florida families. It is time someone finally stood up to the bullies. Daniel is the person to do just that — donate now to help power his campaign to hold Ron DeSantis and Ashley Moody accountable!

 

DONATE MONTHLY »

 

Paid by Daniel Uhlfelder, Democrat, for Attorney General

Daniel Uhlfelder for Attorney General
124 East County Highway 30-A
Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459
United States

Thank you

 

I know you’ve received a few emails from me over the last week, and I just want to thank you for bearing with me as we had to make a strong push to reach our end-of-month fundraising goal. Thanks to an outpouring of support from grassroots supporters like you, we were able to reach our goal! Your support over the course of this campaign, whether you could afford to donate before our June deadline or not, has been truly inspiring.

The primary is only seven weeks away, We cannot take any day for granted. Whether you're a donor, volunteer, or simply spread the word within your community, you help power this campaign to have a positive impact on all Floridians.

With your help, we can win this nomination and we can win in November. We can restore dignity to the office of the Attorney General. Use the office for good. We can help Floridians who are struggling to afford to live in Florida as utility monopolies, insurance companies, and massive corporations jack up costs on us while they rake in record profits.

We can hold Ron DeSantis and Ashley Moody accountable for their harmful actions. We can stop the waste of our tax dollars being used to wage losing culture war battles in court as they try to strip away our freedoms and divide Floridians — all to appease their far-right special interest backers, benefit their own political ambitions, and line the pockets of their friends and campaign donors.

Let your friends and family know what’s at stake, pitch in when you can, and make your voice heard. Together, we can bring justice and accountability to our state that’s been sorely missing, but we’ve got to keep pushing towards the finish line.

Thank you for everything you do. Now let's go win this thing!

— Daniel
 

CONTRIBUTE

 

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Daniel is running for Attorney General because for the last 4 years, the Florida Governor and Attorney General have been more interested in bullying those they don’t agree with than helping Florida families. It is time someone finally stood up to the bullies. Daniel is the person to do just that — donate now to help power his campaign to hold Ron DeSantis and Ashley Moody accountable!

 

DONATE MONTHLY »

 

Paid by Daniel Uhlfelder, Democrat, for Attorney General

Daniel Uhlfelder for Attorney General
124 East County Highway 30-A
Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459
United States

disappointing news

 

I just got off the phone with our finance team, who relayed the disappointing news that we are still falling behind where we need to be in order to reach our critical $25,000 fundraising goal before tomorrow’s deadline. I asked them to pull the supporter record of everyone who hasn’t pitched in during this critical end-of-month push, and here’s where things stand....
 

I can’t emphasize enough how important it is that we reach this fundraising goal. We are going up against millions of dollars in Ashley Moody’s campaign war chest as she’s bankrolled by far-right special interests, and I’m relying on grassroots supporters like you to provide the resources we need to compete in this must-win election.

The only way we can hold Ron DeSantis and Ashley Moody accountable for their harmful actions, stop the waste of millions of our taxpayer dollars fighting losing culture war battles in court, and crack down on massive corporations jacking up costs on hardworking Floridians while they rake in record profits, is by counting on supporters like you to help us reach our important fundraising goals.

I’m personally asking for your help right now ahead of tomorrow’s fundraising deadline. Any support you can provide will help us reach our must-hit goal and can make a real difference in the outcome of this consequential election.

This is a fight we must win, and with your support we can bring real justice and accountability to Florida.

Thank you,

Daniel Uhlfelder
 

CONTRIBUTE

 

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Daniel is running for Attorney General because for the last 4 years, the Florida Governor and Attorney General have been more interested in bullying those they don’t agree with than helping Florida families. It is time someone finally stood up to the bullies. Daniel is the person to do just that — donate now to help power his campaign to hold Ron DeSantis and Ashley Moody accountable!

 

DONATE MONTHLY »

 

Paid by Daniel Uhlfelder, Democrat, for Attorney General

Daniel Uhlfelder for Attorney General
124 East County Highway 30-A
Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459
United States

ATTORNEY GENERAL: ANDREA CAMPBELL FLIP FLOPPER! NO FOR MASSACHUSETTS! ANDREA CAMPBELL IS INCAPABLE OF IMPARTIALITY!

ANDREA CAMPBELL talks a good game...FLIP FLOPPER!

ANDREA CAMPBELL IS NOT A CANDIDATE FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL! 

EXCERPT FROM MASSterList:

By Matt Murphy with help from Keith Regan Ethics raised in AG race view today's edition online

Today's News

Good Thursday morning. Candidate for attorney general Quentin Palfrey is escalating his fight to keep outside spending from the race to succeed Attorney General Maura Healey. Palfrey is raising concerns that rival Andrea Campbell's unwillingness to disavow a super PAC created to support her campaign last year for mayor would force her to recuse herself from cases involving major donors, casting doubt on her ability to fully fulfill the role of attorney general. "We've never had a corporate super PAC supporting an AG candidate in Massachusetts history so we're in uncharted territory," Palfrey told MASSterList. His main concern is Better Boston, a super PAC that spent $1.6 million to support Campbell in her unsuccessful run for Boston mayor last year and remains open, though silent on its intentions moving forward. For instance, Palfrey asked, what would have happened if the Walmart family's Jim Walton (who gave $45,000 to Better Boston) had spent large sums in support of Attorney General Martha Coakley before she filed a lawsuit and settled with Walmart in 2009 over alleged violations of the state's meal break laws for employees. Palfrey's concerns are being echoed by some legal scholars and past prosecutors in the attorney general's office. "If someone were asking me would this raise a question or an issue, I would say, 'Yes,' given that we're in uncharted waters here," said David Friedman, senior vice president for legal and government affairs for the Red Sox and a former first assistant attorney general under Attorney General Martha Coakley. Friedman said it's hard to predict how a court would respond to a challenge raised by an entity the attorney general might be investigating or suing, but even an appearance of conflict could matter. Lawrence Lessig, a Harvard University law professor and campaign finance reform advocate, said the role of the attorney general is more akin to a judge than a legislative representative. "It does raise serious questions of conflict," Lessig said. And Jeff Clements, the CEO of American Progress and a former assistant attorney general under both Coakley and Scott Harshbarger, said, "I do think it's serious. The people have to have faith that the attorney general is not unduly influenced." Campbell campaign manager Will Stockton dismissed the concerns of Palfrey and others, telling MASSterList, "It's not an issue because there are no super PACs involved in the race for attorney general." Stockton said Campbell, who has raised nearly $774,000 this year for her own committee, has done so from grassroots donors, far outpacing her rivals. "Andrea's running a people powered campaign. She's not beholden to large corporations or corporate super PACs. She's beholden to the people," Stockton said. "It's unfortunate that during such a tumultuous time Democrats are spreading misinformation about other Democrats."

It’s an Andrea Campbell pile-on

By LISA KASHINSKY 

 

05/12/2022 07:14 AM EDT

KNIVES OUT — With a lackluster fundraising month behind them and the Democratic nominating convention just three weeks away, attorney general candidates Shannon Liss-Riordan and Quentin Palfrey are lobbing new attacks against polling and fundraising leader Andrea Campbell.

Liss-Riordan is accusing Campbell of another "flip-flop," this time over safe consumption sites. As a candidate for Boston mayor last year, Campbell said she supported supervised drug consumption spaces in a questionnaire sponsored by the three Boston-based chapters of Progressive Massachusetts. But when asked in another Progressive Massachusetts questionnaire for attorney general candidates this year whether she’d support legalizing safe consumption sites, Campbell wrote “NO.”

“Safe consumption sites must be part of our strategy to save lives and help get people on the road to recovery from addiction,” Liss-Riordan said in a statement shared first with Playbook.

Palfrey’s latest salvo against Campbell is more convoluted. 

Palfrey is calling on the MassINC Polling Group to stop running polls that are funded by Education Reform Now Advocacy, or to at least add a better disclaimer about who’s funding the polls and where the money’s coming from. That’s because, as Palfrey claims based on blog posts from a former UMass Boston political science professor, Education Reform Now has historically taken millions of dollars from the Walton Family Foundation.

So what does this have to do with Campbell? Jim Walton, a Walmart heir, donated $45,000 in July to the “Better Boston” super PAC that supported Campbell in the mayor’s race. And Campbell led the January MassINC poll of the attorney general race (and others) that was sponsored by Education Reform Now Advocacy.

“Now that we know that Jim Walton is involved in supporting a super PAC that has been in support of one of these candidates, we don’t think it is appropriate for there to simultaneously be money from Walton and the organizations that he is associated with funding polls in this race, and certainly not without a disclosure,” Palfrey said in an interview.

Palfrey did not provide evidence that Walton Family Foundation contributions to Education Reform Now were directly used to pay for the January 2022 poll. Steve Koczela, president of the MassINC Polling Group, said in a statement: “As a matter of policy, The MassINC Polling Group identifies the funder of each poll on every document showing poll results.” Campbell’s campaign declined comment. Education Reform Now did not respond. Full disclosure: Your Playbook scribe hosts a podcast with Koczela.

Palfrey’s calling out MassINC Polling here, but he’s also trying to take a swipe at Campbell. Palfrey’s been on a crusade to get Campbell to disavow Better Boston, which spent $1.6 million in the mayor’s race. And he wants to prevent the PAC, which can raise and spend unlimited sums but can’t coordinate with candidates, from wading into the attorney general race. He’s also had no luck getting Campbell to join Liss-Riordan in signing onto his “People’s Pledge” to limit third-party spending in the race.

“This is a real issue that affects the integrity of the election and could affect the independence of the attorney general,” Palfrey said.

He’s also hammered Campbell over her past support for charter schools, which is where Walton comes in again. Walton poured more than $1.1 million into the failed 2016 ballot campaign to lift the charter school cap. His donation was noted by several media outlets at the time. But Walton’s $45,000 contribution to Better Boston, and Campbell’s stance on charter schools, flew somewhat under the radar in the mayor’s race.

The fresh wave of attacks against Campbell come after Palfrey and Liss-Riordan both posted their lowest fundraising hauls in months in April, and as the state Democratic Party convention, which will help determine who gets on the primary ballot, looms in June.

Massachusetts Playbook