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The Chickens Make More Sense Than the President

Joyce Vance Oct 22

Today, the Attorney General of the United States, Todd Blanche, declined to rule out interfering with the outcome of the midterm elections. “It is never our intention to improperly interfere with elections,” Blanche said, before declining to rule out doing it.

Blanche thinks he works for the president, just like he did when he was his criminal defense lawyer. The AG is a member of the President’s cabinet and works in the executive branch. But Blanche seems to have lost sight of the fact that his obligation to the people and his oath is to the Constitution. He seems to have forgotten that he works for people who didn’t vote for Donald Trump, as well as those who did. And he certainly has no role to play in certifying elections—that’s up to the states.

Blanche is drunk on Trump’s Kool-Aid. His job is public service. Instead, he’s servicing the whims of a president who shows increasing signs of decline, like his outburst earlier this week at Andrew Feinberg, the Independent’s White House correspondent. Feinberg had asked a question about the White House’s ironic new anti-fraud initiative. “I don’t know who the hell you are, but you better be careful,” Trump said to Feinberg shortly after he answered his question.

And so it goes, as we head into the midterms. But on a personal note, in my house, we’re celebrating our second son’s birthday tonight, but low-key, at home with pizza, because we’re all under the weather. So I’m going to take some time tonight to celebrate and then get a couple of extra hours of sleep. First, there are a few developments I want to make sure are on your radar screen. Then, I’ll leave you with some chicken pictures, because they’ve been in rare form today. They certainly make more sense to me than our president.

• The Washington Sun is reporting that State Department foreign service officers who are up for promotion are being asked whether they voted for Donald Trump and told they aren’t eligible for promotion if they didn’t. People seeking promotions were told that their “campaign donation history would be examined and any donation to Democrats would be disqualifying.” Marco Rubio should have resigned in protest instead of permitting this to happen on his watch.

• We’ve been discussing the $10 billion (ridiculous) defamation case Donald Trump filed against the BBC, because Ivanka, Don Jr., and Eric have been ducking subpoenas to testify. Trump announced last week that he would not be sitting for his scheduled deposition because he was busy. So the BBC took him to court, and today, a magistrate judge ordered Trump to sit for his deposition by December 11 or face dismissal of his case. I’ve got dismissal on my bingo card. Trump filed this lawsuit knowing he would be deposed, and given the amount of time he spends on the golf course and on social media, it’s hard to maintain he can’t find a couple of hours for a deposition.

• ProPublica is reporting that their data analysis “shows that delays resulting from the USPS' cost-cutting measures have endangered the validity of ballots mailed in rural areas. Counties that voted for Trump in 2024 have been most affected.” Every eligible American, regardless of who they vote for, should have the right to vote and have their vote counted. Who you vote for is a political decision; the right to vote itself is one of the fundamentals of American democracy. That this administration is so incompetent that it ends up burdening its own voters, along with Democrats, is just another reason we need to be done with Trump and MAGA.

• A federal judge has told DHS to discontinue its practice of sending out armed, uniformed agents to target certain homes, knock doors, and ask residents about their immigration status and whether they're registered to vote. It’s reminiscent of intimidation of Black voters during the Civil Rights era. I wrote about that here (strongly encourage you to read if you missed it). UVA Professor Larry Sabato had this take on it. Whatever historical antecedent you prefer, this is nothing but flagrant voter intimidation by a desperate administration.

• New Mexico’s state AG, Raúl Torrez, filed a civil case in federal court against Jeffrey Epstein's longtime lawyer Darren Indyke and his accountant Richard Kahn. The lawsuit alleges that they facilitated the financing and helped to conceal Epstein’s sex trafficking operation. Torrez has been trying to get DOJ to turn over undisclosed parts of the Epstein Files to him so he can pursue his criminal case. The allegations involve Epstein’s Zorro Ranch in Santa Fe County, New Mexico. Torrez is asking the court to block payments from the estate to the two while the litigation proceeds.

• Writing that “lower federal courts” should not change election rules too close to Election Day, the Supreme Court held New Hampshire could continue to refuse to accept student IDs as evidence of identity, citing Purcell.

If you’ve got a little extra time tonight, I joined my friend Harry Litman for a special edition of the Talking Feds Podcast. We covered election threats and preparedness. We’ll stay focused on this topic—there is a lot of preparation going on behind the scenes, and although there is a lot to be concerned about with Donald Trump’s unwillingness to accept the will of the voters, lawyers and activists across the country are prepared to protect our elections. I want each of you to be able to vote without fear and reassure those around you. Our greatest election security will happen through massive turnout of voters, which is exactly why the administration is intent on intimidating people and trying to convince them to stay home.

The chickens, as I mentioned before, have had quite the day. I pulled out some huge late-season basil plants, and they’ve made a feast of it. They are good chickens. They do not call anyone “low IQ” or “Piggy.” They do not ban the press from covering them, in fact, they eat right out of my hands. They welcome anyone who comes to visit, including Tofu, our large Maine Coon Cat who seems to wish he could be one of them, but is not. They are a silly and gentle reminder that life is good, and that we will get through these challenging times too.

Tomorrow, I’ll be back with a special “Five Questions” covering the importance of state Supreme Court races. And we’ll have lots to catch up on this weekend. Thanks for being here with me at Civil Discourse. Your support and your paid subscriptions make the newsletter possible, and I’m very grateful for the community of pro-democracy people that we’ve built.

We’re in this together,

Joyce

POLITICO Nightly: Michael Cohen torched Trump — will the jury believe him?

 

BY CALDER MCHUGH Presented by  Michael Cohen arrives at his home after leaving Manhattan Criminal Court today. | Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images TRUST ISSUES — The first three weeks of the Trump trial haven’t been kind to Michael Cohen’s reputation. Witness after witness has recounted both their personal and professional problems with Donald Trump’s former attorney and fixer. Publisher David Pecker testified that Cohen used to ask the National Enquirer to run negative articles on Trump’s political opponents. Cohen’s former banker Gary Farro said he was chosen for the job of dealing with him because “of my ability to handle individuals that may be a little challenging.” Keith Davidson, Stormy Daniels’ former lawyer, said that Cohen was like the excitable dog in the Pixar movie Up, “where the dog says ‘Squirrel! Squirrel!’” Former Trump staffer Hope Hicks may have had the unkindest cut of all . “I used to say that he liked to call himself a ‘fixer’ or ‘Mr. Fix It,’ and it was only because he first broke it that he was able to come and fix it,” she said. Those unflattering portrayals might be hard for Cohen to overcome. But if his credibility isn’t already shattered, then his former boss has a very big problem. Cohen, as POLITICO reported about his day on the stand , both linked Trump directly to the payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and explained that Trump’s concern about her story getting out was all about the campaign. In other words, he just bolstered two pillars of the prosecution’s argument. Crucially, Cohen explained a meeting that he had with Trump in Trump Tower in January 2017, in which Trump personally agreed to reimburse Cohen for the hush money payment to Daniels. That’s the strongest evidence so far that prosecutors have that Trump was directly linked to the scheme. The prosecution also submitted into evidence the call logs between Trump and Cohen on the day the payment to Daniels was finalized — Cohen said that in that call he informed Trump the situation was “locked down.” Cohen also recounted — in another essential exchange — Trump’s political assessment of his predicament. “[He] said to me: ‘This is a disaster. Total disaster. Women are going to hate me. This is really a disaster. Women will hate me. Guys may think it’s cool, but this is going to be a disaster for the campaign.’” According to Cohen, when he asked Trump about how the Daniels story might upset his wife Melania, Trump said “Don’t worry… How long do you think I’ll be on the market for? Not long.” That conversation, of course, is hearsay. And when they get their shot at him, the defense will do everything they can to unwrap the legal bow that Cohen tied on top of the prosecution’s case today. We won’t know for weeks whether the jury believed Cohen. But his testimony today was at least enough to get under Trump’s skin. He was once again scoffing in his chair throughout the day, something that drew a rebuke from Judge Merchan last week. And after the day in court was over, he opened himself up again to contempt charges by yelling in the hallway outside the courtroom to the media that “We have a corrupt judge … He’s a corrupt judge. And he’s a conflicted judge and he outta let us go out and campaign and get rid of this scam.” Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com . Or contact tonight’s author at cmchugh@politico.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @calder_mchugh .   A message from Safety Runs First: ADVANCING EQUINE SAFETY IN HORSERACING: Thoroughbred racing is applying unprecedented resources to protect the wellbeing of our horses. For the first time ever, all horses now run under the same safety and anti-doping rules, overseen by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA). Advanced diagnostic technologies and big data add a new layer of protection. Combining uniform rules and hands-on care with the latest technologies ensures safety always runs first. To learn more visit SafetyRunsFirst.com.   TRUMP ON TRIAL BIG APPLE CIRCUS — Five Trump allies in elected office, including Sens. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), sought to discredit Michael Cohen today on the former president’s behalf — attacking the prosecution’s key witness in a way Trump cannot because he is under a gag order. “This guy is a convicted felon who admitted in his testimony that he secretly recorded his former employer, that he only did it once allegedly and that this was supposed to help Donald Trump,” Vance told reporters outside the courthouse. “Does any reasonable, sensible person believe anything that Michael Cohen says?” Vance and Tuberville were joined by Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.), Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird and Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall. CASH BACK — Michael Cohen walked jurors through the handwritten math that he and former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg calculated together , to reimburse the former fixer a total of $420,000 that included the hush money payment to Stormy Daniels. The calculation was previously described on the stand by former Trump Organization controller Jeff McConney, but Cohen revealed more details about the deal. Cohen explained in greater detail a $50,000 sum added to the figure to reimburse him, intended for a tech company called Red Finch. Cohen said Trump had stiffed the company for services, and Cohen wanted to make them whole because he knew the CEO of Red Finch. Cohen had paid the company some of the $50,000, so he included the total sum in the equation. NO PAPER TRAIL — Cohen described a scramble to pay Stormy Daniels $130,000 to suppress her story that led to some creative thinking. He said he and Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg mused about giving away a membership to Trump’s golf club to someone who would front the money or crediting a family seeking to have a bar mitzvah at one of Trump’s properties. But Cohen said he vetoed the ideas because they would inevitably link the Trump name to the transaction that funded Daniels’ NDA . “The whole purpose was to ensure that in no way was the Trump name disclosed,” Cohen said.   THE GOLD STANDARD OF POLICY REPORTING & INTELLIGENCE: POLITICO has more than 500 journalists delivering unrivaled reporting and illuminating the policy and regulatory landscape for those who need to know what’s next. Throughout the election and the legislative and regulatory pushes that will follow, POLITICO Pro is indispensable to those who need to make informed decisions fast. The Pro platform dives deeper into critical and quickly evolving sectors and industries—finance, defense, technology, healthcare, energy—equipping policymakers and those who shape legislation and regulation with essential news and intelligence from the world’s best politics and policy journalists. Our newsroom is deeper, more experienced, and better sourced than any other—with teams embedded in the world’s most active legislative and regulatory power centers. From Brussels to Washington, New York to London, Sacramento to Paris, we bring subscribers inside the conversations that determine policy outcomes and the future of industries, providing insight that cannot be found anywhere else. Get the premier news and policy intelligence service, SUBSCRIBE TO POLITICO PRO TODAY .     WHAT'D I MISS? — White House opposes House bill to force Israeli arm shipments: The White House announced today that it opposes a Republican-led bill that would force President Joe Biden to send withheld military assistance to Israel . “We strongly, strongly oppose attempts to constrain the president’s ability to deploy a U.S. security assistance consistent with U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters. House Republicans introduced the bill over the weekend in response to Biden’s decision to pause a shipment of weapons in an effort to deter Israel from launching a full-scale ground operation in the Gaza city of Rafah. — Justice Department vows crackdown on election-related threats: Top Justice Department leaders promised today to respond swiftly to threats against officials overseeing this year’s elections and to combat the increasing use of sophisticated technology to disguise the origins of any disruptions. With a close-fought presidential campaign looming in November, high-ranking federal officials convened at DOJ headquarters to warn that threats of violence related to the election will be pursued aggressively and prosecutors will seek extra punishment in cases involving artificial intelligence and other digital advances. — Live Nation makes final bid to avoid DOJ antitrust suit: Lawyers and executives for Live Nation Entertainment, parent company of Ticketmaster, met last Thursday with senior leadership of the Justice Department — including Jonathan Kanter, the DOJ’s antitrust chief — according to two people with knowledge of the matter. The meeting is part of a final, though likely unsuccessful, bid to stave off a high profile lawsuit in which the DOJ could eventually seek a breakup of the company. The DOJ is in the final stages of preparing an antitrust suit that could come as soon as this month , the people said. NIGHTLY ROAD TO 2024 NOEM BANNED — South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is now banned from entering nearly 20% of her state after two more tribes banished her this week over comments she made earlier this year about tribal leaders benefitting from drug cartels, reports the Associated Press. The latest developments in the ongoing tribal dispute come on the heels of the backlash Noem faced for writing about killing a hunting dog that misbehaved in her latest book. It is not clear how these controversies will affect her chances to become Donald Trump’s running mate. The Yankton Sioux Tribe voted Friday to ban Noem from their land in southeastern South Dakota just a few days after the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate tribe took the same action. The Oglala, Rosebud, Cheyenne River and Standing Rock Sioux tribes had already taken action to keep her off their reservations. Three other tribes haven’t yet banned her.   A message from Safety Runs First:   AROUND THE WORLD Ukrainians arrive at an evacuation point in the Kharkiv region on Sunday, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. | Roman Pilipey/AFP via Getty Images DECISIVE BATTLE — Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv and its surrounding area are facing an intense wave of attacks from Vladimir Putin’s invading troops, writes POLITICO. The signs are that this surge marks the start of a decisive battle that will be critical to the outcome of the war. At stake is not just control of one of Ukraine’s major population centers but potentially the country’s capacity to keep fighting: If Kharkiv falls, Western resolve may soon follow. Russian forces have long been expected to make a major attempt to break through Ukrainian lines in May or June. It now seems clear that this push is under way , with Putin apparently keen to take advantage of a window before more Western ammunition and weapons arrive to help Ukraine’s military fight back. CAMERON’S PITCH — Britain insisted its position on a Ukrainian peace deal has not changed after a report that the country’s top diplomat floated an agreement with Russia in a meeting with Donald Trump, reports POLITICO. British Foreign Secretary David Cameron met Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in April to try to convince the presidential contender to endorse more military aid to Ukraine in the face of Republican resistance. Citing a “senior source,” The Sunday Times newspaper reported this weekend that Cameron had argued fresh aid would help Ukraine hold its front lines — and give Trump the “best possible conditions” to try and secure a deal between the warring sides.   LISTEN TO POLITICO'S ENERGY PODCAST:  Check out our daily five-minute brief on the latest energy and environmental politics and policy news. Don't miss out on the must-know stories, candid insights, and analysis from POLITICO's energy team. Listen today .     NIGHTLY NUMBER $70 million The amount of money that One Nation, a conservative outside spending group, is plowing into attacks on vulnerable Senate Democrats . That’s roughly double the group’s investment from last cycle. RADAR SWEEP THE STONE AGE — A recent viral tweet argued that it will be cheaper to build buildings with stone, fabricated by robots, than with steel or concrete within the next 10 years. Why? Because stone is expensive primarily because of the high cost of finishing it: It requires skilled masons to carve quarried stone into the proper shape, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive. As automation gets better, the thinking goes, these costs will fall, making stone construction substantially cheaper than it is now. But Brian Potter writes in the Construction Physics Substack that even if stone became cost competitive as a raw material, there would still be practical problems, among other reasons, that would make it less attractive than steel or concrete. PARTING IMAGE On this date in 1985: Singer Stevie Wonder plays piano at the United Nations General Assembly, as he was honored for his work against Apartheid. | AP Did someone forward this email to you?  Sign up here .   A message from Safety Runs First: BRINGING RACING INTO THE 21ST CENTURY: Three years ago, Congress created the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) to enhance the safety and integrity of Thoroughbred racing. Under HISA, for the first time in the sport’s 200-year history, every horse across the country is now running under the same safety and anti-doping rules. In addition, HISA is partnering with leading technology providers, including AWS and Palantir, to create new data-enabled tools to assist veterinary screenings. These tools add a new layer of protection by helping identify at-risk horses before they reach the starting gate. The industry is also investing in the latest technologies for diagnostic imaging and wearable biometric devices. Combining enhanced, uniform rules, data analytics and cutting-edge technologies is improving safety outcomes and enhancing the ecosystems of care at every track nationwide, ensuring safety always runs first. To learn more visit SafetyRunsFirst.com.     Follow us on Twitter Charlie Mahtesian @PoliticoCharlie Calder McHugh @calder_mchugh   FOLLOW US

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