motherjones--2020-11-19--Turning Point USA to Hold Superspreader Event in Palm Beach

The pro-Trump student group Turning Point USA will hold its sixth annual Student Action Summit in West Palm Beach in December , COVID-19 be damned .
As my colleague Stephanie Mencimer reported in 2018 , the group , founded by Trump acolyte Charlie Kirk , trumpets the idea that conservative students are persecuted on high school and college campuses , taunts liberals with a # BigGovernmentSucks hashtag , and maintains a watchlist of professors thought to be socialists .
The December 19–22 summit—which could very well end up being a superspreader event—promises to feature Kirk , Fox News hosts Tucker @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Giuliani and Dennis Prager , and the lame duck president ’ s son Donald Trump Jr. A Turning Point USA press release says that the summit “ will be following all state and local Covid-19 guidelines to ensure the safety of all participants , ” though it doesn ’ t specify whether masks will be required or whether the event will be indoors .
It ’ s also not clear exactly how many people will attend , but the organization ’ s website says that “ thousands ” of student activists will be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ advisory discourages gatherings of more than 10 people and recommends avoiding crowds , closed spaces , and close contact .
Palm Beach County has issued a mask mandate , but thanks to an executive order from Republican Gov .
Ron DeSantis , individual violators can ’ t be fined .
TPUSA has not responded to a request for comment .

The pro-Trump student group Turning Point USA will hold its sixth annual Student Action Summit in West Palm Beach in December, COVID-19 be damned.
As my colleague Stephanie Mencimer reported in 2018, the group, founded by Trump acolyte Charlie Kirk, trumpets the idea that conservative students are persecuted on high school and college campuses, taunts liberals with a #BigGovernmentSucks hashtag, and maintains a watchlist of professors thought to be socialists. The December 19–22 summit—which could very well end up being a superspreader event—promises to feature Kirk, Fox News hosts Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham, septuagenarians Rudy Giuliani and Dennis Prager, and the lame duck president’s son Donald Trump Jr.
A Turning Point USA press release says that the summit “will be following all state and local Covid-19 guidelines to ensure the safety of all participants,” though it doesn’t specify whether masks will be required or whether the event will be indoors. It’s also not clear exactly how many people will attend, but the organization’s website says that “thousands” of student activists will be invited. Florida’s public health advisory discourages gatherings of more than 10 people and recommends avoiding crowds, closed spaces, and close contact. Palm Beach County has issued a mask mandate, but thanks to an executive order from Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, individual violators can’t be fined.
TPUSA has not responded to a request for comment.


motherjones--2020-11-19--Michigan Republicans Are Helping Trump Try to Steal the State’s Election

The two Republican members of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers , who on Tuesday night tried to block certification of the county ’ s votes Tuesday night before relenting under withering local criticism , are now attempting to “ rescind ” their certification , claiming that they were duped into agreeing to certification based on the false promise of a state audit .
Tracy Wimmer , a spokesperson for Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson , said the board ’ s decision to certify can not be rescinded .
“ There is no legal mechanism for the board members to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , “ their job is done , and the next step in the process is for the Board of State Canvassers to meet and certify.
” That meeting , when every county ’ s election results will be certified , cementing Vice President Joe Biden ’ s victory in the state by nearly 150,000 votes , is slated for Monday .
The Republican members ’ attempt to once again change their votes , this time to benefit the president , came after they were directly contacted by him .
Monica Palmer , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ canvassing board , told the Detroit Free Press that Trump had called her after the contentious Tuesday-night meeting to make sure she “ was safe.
” The other Republican board member , William Hartmann , also spoke with the president , according to the Associated Press .
The Republican members of the county canvassing board said they only agreed to certify the county ’ s results on Tuesday night after being assured that the Secretary of State ’ s office would facilitate an independent audit of the county ’ s results .
Jonathan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chairman and a Democrat , has since told the Detroit News that while he intended to ask for such an audit , he hadn ’ t spoken to Benson ’ s office about the proposed audit at the time of the board ’ s certification vote—and that Palmer and Hartmann knew that .
Additionally , he told the paper , the two Republicans agreed on Tuesday night to a motion waiving additional consideration after the vote to certify .
On Thursday , Benson ’ s office released a statement promising “ routine local @ @ @ @ @ @ @ local jurisdictions where the data shows significant clerical errors ” —but only after certification .
The Detroit precincts under consideration for audit were out of balance—a situation where the number of voters who checked in doesn ’ t match the number of votes ultimately counted—by “ a few hundred votes , ” a minuscule number compared to either the roughly 878,000 ballots cast in Detroit or the 150,000 statewide margin separating Biden and Trump .
Trump ’ s campaign , which has filed a flurry of lawsuits in several states to overturn election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Michigan on Thursday morning on the premise that the Wayne County certification had not taken place .
Rudy Giuliani , Trump ’ s personal lawyer , said they did so “ as a direct result of achieving the relief we sought : to stop the election in Wayne County from being prematurely certified before residents can be assured that every legal vote has been counted and every illegal vote has not been counted , ” according to the Detroit News .
In fact , it seems Wayne county ’ s certification will stand @ @ @ @ @ @ @ notched in courtrooms across the country .
The record points to a strategy not based on winning cases , but on creating enough delay and unfounded doubt about the legitimacy of the election in key states , such as Michigan and Pennsylvania , such that the Republican-controlled legislatures have a premise to step in and appoint alternate electors who would support Trump in the Electoral College for Trump .
While Michigan ’ s Republican senate majority leader , Mike Shirkey , recently recognized that Biden won the election and said that wouldn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it was reported Thursday that Shirkey and Rep. Lee Chatfield , the Republican speaker of the state house , are headed to the White House on Friday for a private meeting with Trump .
A spokesperson for Chatfield did not respond to a request for comment .

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The two Republican members of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers, who on Tuesday night tried to block certification of the county’s votes Tuesday night before relenting under withering local criticism, are now attempting to “rescind” their certification, claiming that they were duped into agreeing to certification based on the false promise of a state audit.
Tracy Wimmer, a spokesperson for Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, said the board’s decision to certify cannot be rescinded. “There is no legal mechanism for the board members to rescind their vote,” Wimmer said, “their job is done, and the next step in the process is for the Board of State Canvassers to meet and certify.” That meeting, when every county’s election results will be certified, cementing Vice President Joe Biden’s victory in the state by nearly 150,000 votes, is slated for Monday.
“There is no legal mechanism for the board members to rescind their vote.”
The Republican members’ attempt to once again change their votes, this time to benefit the president, came after they were directly contacted by him. Monica Palmer, the Republican chairwoman of the county’s canvassing board, told the Detroit Free Press that Trump had called her after the contentious Tuesday-night meeting to make sure she “was safe.” The other Republican board member, William Hartmann, also spoke with the president, according to the Associated Press.
The Republican members of the county canvassing board said they only agreed to certify the county’s results on Tuesday night after being assured that the Secretary of State’s office would facilitate an independent audit of the county’s results. Jonathan Kinloch, the board’s vice chairman and a Democrat, has since told the Detroit News that while he intended to ask for such an audit, he hadn’t spoken to Benson’s office about the proposed audit at the time of the board’s certification vote—and that Palmer and Hartmann knew that. Additionally, he told the paper, the two Republicans agreed on Tuesday night to a motion waiving additional consideration after the vote to certify. On Thursday, Benson’s office released a statement promising “routine local performance audits…in Wayne County and any other local jurisdictions where the data shows significant clerical errors”—but only after certification.
The Detroit precincts under consideration for audit were out of balance—a situation where the number of voters who checked in doesn’t match the number of votes ultimately counted—by “a few hundred votes,” a minuscule number compared to either the roughly 878,000 ballots cast in Detroit or the 150,000 statewide margin separating Biden and Trump.
Trump’s campaign, which has filed a flurry of lawsuits in several states to overturn election results, withdrew one federal lawsuit in Michigan on Thursday morning on the premise that the Wayne County certification had not taken place. Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer, said they did so “as a direct result of achieving the relief we sought: to stop the election in Wayne County from being prematurely certified before residents can be assured that every legal vote has been counted and every illegal vote has not been counted,” according to the Detroit News.
In fact, it seems Wayne county’s certification will stand, representing yet another Trump legal failure notched in courtrooms across the country. The record points to a strategy not based on winning cases, but on creating enough delay and unfounded doubt about the legitimacy of the election in key states, such as Michigan and Pennsylvania, such that the Republican-controlled legislatures have a premise to step in and appoint alternate electors who would support Trump in the Electoral College for Trump.
While Michigan’s Republican senate majority leader, Mike Shirkey, recently recognized that Biden won the election and said that wouldn’t happen in his state, on it was reported Thursday that Shirkey and Rep. Lee Chatfield, the Republican speaker of the state house, are headed to the White House on Friday for a private meeting with Trump. A spokesperson for Chatfield did not respond to a request for comment.


motherjones--2020-11-20--How the GOP Is Helping Trump’s War on Democracy

On Thursday afternoon , something obscene happened .
One of the two major parties hosted an event where the president ’ s lawyers spewed an unfounded and nutso conspiracy theory in an effort to overturn an election and to poison the national discourse .
There was a comic element to the moment : Rudy Giuliani , with hair dye running down his face , and the others contended that a vast conspiracy involving Antifa , George Soros , the Democrats , the media , Big Tech , Germany , Hugo Chavez ( or perhaps his ghost ) , voting machine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ actors , had mounted a plot to steal the election from Donald Trump .
They produced no evidence to substantiate this outlandish accusation , and their legal actions in court—which focus on more mundane issues and do not allege such a grand scheme—have been failing .
But this stunt is dangerous nevertheless , as it undermines popular confidence in the American political system , impedes an effective presidential transition ( which is a matter of life and death during a pandemic ) , and sows widespread suspicion and paranoia in an already much-divided @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shocker that Trump , a narcissist so often motivated by spite , would orchestrate such perilous chaos on the way out .
And while some GOPers have fully echoed his crazy allegations , many other Republicans have helped Trump impose great harm upon the republic by remaining silent or by supporting the notion that he ought to be permitted to break with tradition , hold off on any concession , and pursue other options .
Overall , the Republicans , who have enabled Trump ’ s demagoguery and his steps toward authoritarianism since @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , have aided and abetted Trump ’ s war on the 2020 election .
The RNC provided Giuliani and Co. with an indoor space for this absurd press conference .
( No masks were worn by the participants , and Giuliani ’ s son was present—a day before he tested positive for COVID-19 . )
Afterward , the GOP ’ s official Twitter account posted excerpts of the event , including Sidney Powell , one of the Trump attorneys , claiming “ Trump won by a landslide.
” ( Powell , who gained @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her client Michael Flynn , Trump ’ s former national security adviser , exclaimed , “ Globalist dictators , corporations , you name it .
Everybody is against us.
” ) And since the election , top Republican officials also have assisted Trump by insisting that he needed space to deal with his loss and that he had the right to examine vote counts and file legal challenges .
But this coddling of Trump yielded him an opportunity to go far beyond examining specific vote tallies and requesting recounts .
It provided him @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the results of the election so he can stay in power .
In the weeks following Election Day , senior Republicans largely stuck to the same hymnal .
Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell summed it up : Trump is “ 100-percent within his rights to look into allegations of irregularities and weigh his legal options.
” Sen. John Thune ( R-SD ) observed , “ I think he ’ s got a constitutional right if there are legal challenges they want to make , and I think everyone ought to let that play @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Alaska said , “ I , for one , will support our president ’ s efforts to ensure that the election is completed with integrity .
Let us hope and pray that it is.
” The message : give Trump a chance—and the time to accept that he was defeated .
On CNN , former Republican Sen. Rick Santorum remarked , “ This is a very emotional time .
Give people space to work through this.
” People ?
He meant Trump .
( No similar request for “ space ” was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Bush lost .
Each one-termer congratulated their vanquisher and proceeded with the transition . )
This Republican support for the Trump campaign ’ s legal maneuvers might have sounded reasonable .
It certainly allowed GOPers to side with Trump , as he refused to concede , without accepting his baseless claim that he had actually won more votes .
And , of course , Trump exploited the cowardice of Republican officials and their desire to not challenge or defy him .
Instead of searching for reasonable claims of voting irregularities , Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and space to create and advance various false counter-narratives about the election , all to discredit the results .
Their message : the election was completely crooked .
Giuliani at one point referred to a debunked story alleging the mafia had stolen votes in Philadelphia to help Joe Biden .
Trump has tweeted out a false chart suggesting that Biden got 138,000 mysterious votes in Michigan .
With many Republicans staying mute , Trump used the weeks after Election Day to disparage and debase American democracy and to pursue a scheme that would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the White House .
He was no longer just raising questions about vote counts .
He has been conniving to find Republican state legislators in states Biden won who will ignore the popular vote and choose a slate of Trump electors for the Electoral College .
Legal and voting experts believe such a move would be illegal .
Yet Trump , egged on by Giuliani and former White House strategist Steve Bannon ( who was indicted for fraud and who recently called for Dr. Anthony Fauci to be beheaded ) , has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s why he invited two top Republican legislators in Michigan to see him in the White House .
Trump is considering a political coup .
It ’ s unlikely he can pull it off—especially with a legal team that has lost almost every case and that practically every day embarrasses itself with some new act of utter incompetence .
But to justify such a course of action , Trump and his minions are spreading dark conspiracy theories that assert evil forces have assaulted the US election to deny 70-plus million Americans of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Whatever happens with the Trump-Giuliani coup clown show , this dissemination of disinformation will do great damage to the country .
All those Republicans who blithely said that the nation should let the Trump challenges play out missed the fact that the resolution of these court cases will not be the end of the story that Trump is peddling .
In a way , Trump ’ s mounting losses in various courts across the land bolster Giuliani ’ s bogus narrative : it ’ s all one massive fraud .
In recent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to gently suggest it ’ s time to wrap things up and start preparing for the Biden administration .
And they have called BS on the Trump-Giuliani claim that Trump is the victim of a diabolical cabal ( which managed to rob him of a win but not do the same with Republican senators and House members ) .
Rep. Fred Upton ( R-Mich. ) said Trump ought to concede : “ No one has seen any real identification of any real fraud.
” Sen. Ben Sasse ( R-Neb . )
remarked that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ signs of significant fraud : “ Wild press conferences erode public trust .
So no , obviously Rudy and his buddies should not pressure electors to ignore their certification obligations under the statute .
We are a nation of laws , not tweets.
” Sen , Mitt Romney ( R-Utah ) went further : “ Having failed to make even a plausible case of widespread fraud or conspiracy before any court of law , the President has now resorted to overt pressure on state and local officials to subvert the will of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is difficult to imagine a worse , more undemocratic action by a sitting American President.
” Even Fox host Tucker Carlson got into the act , saying that he had asked Powell for evidence of election fraud but “ she never sent us any evidence despite a lot of requests , polite requests , not a page.
” But all of this is coming too late .
The conservative media , Republican officialdom—they all stood back and stood by as Trump planted the seeds of conspiracy .
( Some eagerly provided water .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ lay a phony foundation for his against-all-odds stab at defying voters and attempting a power-grab .
This is merely a continuation of the GOP ’ s acceptance of Trump ’ s ceaseless assault on democratic norms and values .
But it ’ s one of the worst episodes of GOP acquiescence ( in part because this is causing a delay in the transition , which could lead to more COVID-19 deaths ) .
Sure , Trump will be out of office soon .
But his last acts in office will include the profound @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Republican comrades facilitated this treachery .
Those corrupt seeds Trump is sowing right now will grow in their field of complicity .

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On Thursday afternoon, something obscene happened. One of the two major parties hosted an event where the president’s lawyers spewed an unfounded and nutso conspiracy theory in an effort to overturn an election and to poison the national discourse. There was a comic element to the moment: Rudy Giuliani, with hair dye running down his face, and the others contended that a vast conspiracy involving Antifa, George Soros, the Democrats, the media, Big Tech, Germany, Hugo Chavez (or perhaps his ghost), voting machine companies, Cuba, and other nefarious actors, had mounted a plot to steal the election from Donald Trump. They produced no evidence to substantiate this outlandish accusation, and their legal actions in court—which focus on more mundane issues and do not allege such a grand scheme—have been failing. But this stunt is dangerous nevertheless, as it undermines popular confidence in the American political system, impedes an effective presidential transition (which is a matter of life and death during a pandemic), and sows widespread suspicion and paranoia in an already much-divided country. It’s not a shocker that Trump, a narcissist so often motivated by spite, would orchestrate such perilous chaos on the way out. And while some GOPers have fully echoed his crazy allegations, many other Republicans have helped Trump impose great harm upon the republic by remaining silent or by supporting the notion that he ought to be permitted to break with tradition, hold off on any concession, and pursue other options.
Overall, the Republicans, who have enabled Trump’s demagoguery and his steps toward authoritarianism since he became its presumptive nominee in 2016, have aided and abetted Trump’s war on the 2020 election. The RNC provided Giuliani and Co. with an indoor space for this absurd press conference. (No masks were worn by the participants, and Giuliani’s son was present—a day before he tested positive for COVID-19.) Afterward, the GOP’s official Twitter account posted excerpts of the event, including Sidney Powell, one of the Trump attorneys, claiming “Trump won by a landslide.” (Powell, who gained prominence pushing various conspiracy theories to help her client Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser, exclaimed, “Globalist dictators, corporations, you name it. Everybody is against us.”) And since the election, top Republican officials also have assisted Trump by insisting that he needed space to deal with his loss and that he had the right to examine vote counts and file legal challenges. But this coddling of Trump yielded him an opportunity to go far beyond examining specific vote tallies and requesting recounts. It provided him the running room to try to overturn the results of the election so he can stay in power.
In the weeks following Election Day, senior Republicans largely stuck to the same hymnal. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell summed it up: Trump is “100-percent within his rights to look into allegations of irregularities and weigh his legal options.” Sen. John Thune (R-SD) observed, “I think he’s got a constitutional right if there are legal challenges they want to make, and I think everyone ought to let that play out.” Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy of Alaska said, “I, for one, will support our president’s efforts to ensure that the election is completed with integrity. Let us hope and pray that it is.” The message: give Trump a chance—and the time to accept that he was defeated. On CNN, former Republican Sen. Rick Santorum remarked, “This is a very emotional time. Give people space to work through this.” People? He meant Trump. (No similar request for “space” was issued when Jimmy Carter or George H.W. Bush lost. Each one-termer congratulated their vanquisher and proceeded with the transition.)
This Republican support for the Trump campaign’s legal maneuvers might have sounded reasonable. It certainly allowed GOPers to side with Trump, as he refused to concede, without accepting his baseless claim that he had actually won more votes. And, of course, Trump exploited the cowardice of Republican officials and their desire to not challenge or defy him. Instead of searching for reasonable claims of voting irregularities, Trump and his crew have used this time and space to create and advance various false counter-narratives about the election, all to discredit the results. Their message: the election was completely crooked. Giuliani at one point referred to a debunked story alleging the mafia had stolen votes in Philadelphia to help Joe Biden. Trump has tweeted out a false chart suggesting that Biden got 138,000 mysterious votes in Michigan.
With many Republicans staying mute, Trump used the weeks after Election Day to disparage and debase American democracy and to pursue a scheme that would sidestep the vote counts and keep him in the White House. He was no longer just raising questions about vote counts. He has been conniving to find Republican state legislators in states Biden won who will ignore the popular vote and choose a slate of Trump electors for the Electoral College. Legal and voting experts believe such a move would be illegal. Yet Trump, egged on by Giuliani and former White House strategist Steve Bannon (who was indicted for fraud and who recently called for Dr. Anthony Fauci to be beheaded), has grasped on to this strategy. That’s why he invited two top Republican legislators in Michigan to see him in the White House.
Trump is considering a political coup. It’s unlikely he can pull it off—especially with a legal team that has lost almost every case and that practically every day embarrasses itself with some new act of utter incompetence. But to justify such a course of action, Trump and his minions are spreading dark conspiracy theories that assert evil forces have assaulted the US election to deny 70-plus million Americans of their right to keep Trump in office. Whatever happens with the Trump-Giuliani coup clown show, this dissemination of disinformation will do great damage to the country. All those Republicans who blithely said that the nation should let the Trump challenges play out missed the fact that the resolution of these court cases will not be the end of the story that Trump is peddling. In a way, Trump’s mounting losses in various courts across the land bolster Giuliani’s bogus narrative: it’s all one massive fraud.
In recent days, a few Republicans have started to gently suggest it’s time to wrap things up and start preparing for the Biden administration. And they have called BS on the Trump-Giuliani claim that Trump is the victim of a diabolical cabal (which managed to rob him of a win but not do the same with Republican senators and House members). Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) said Trump ought to concede: “No one has seen any real identification of any real fraud.” Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) remarked that Trump’s lawyers had showed no signs of significant fraud: “Wild press conferences erode public trust. So no, obviously Rudy and his buddies should not pressure electors to ignore their certification obligations under the statute. We are a nation of laws, not tweets.”
Sen, Mitt Romney (R-Utah) went further: “Having failed to make even a plausible case of widespread fraud or conspiracy before any court of law, the President has now resorted to overt pressure on state and local officials to subvert the will of the people and overturn the election. It is difficult to imagine a worse, more undemocratic action by a sitting American President.” Even Fox host Tucker Carlson got into the act, saying that he had asked Powell for evidence of election fraud but “she never sent us any evidence despite a lot of requests, polite requests, not a page.”
But all of this is coming too late. The conservative media, Republican officialdom—they all stood back and stood by as Trump planted the seeds of conspiracy. (Some eagerly provided water.) They afforded him the chance to lay a phony foundation for his against-all-odds stab at defying voters and attempting a power-grab. This is merely a continuation of the GOP’s acceptance of Trump’s ceaseless assault on democratic norms and values. But it’s one of the worst episodes of GOP acquiescence (in part because this is causing a delay in the transition, which could lead to more COVID-19 deaths). Sure, Trump will be out of office soon. But his last acts in office will include the profound wounding of American democracy, and his Republican comrades facilitated this treachery. Those corrupt seeds Trump is sowing right now will grow in their field of complicity.


motherjones--2020-11-20--State Legislatures Don’t Have the Power to Subvert the Election for Trump

After losing nearly every major legal case seeking to throw out ballots cast for Joe Biden in key states , the Trump campaign has pivoted to a new strategy : seeking to persuade GOP-controlled legislatures in states like Michigan and Pennsylvania to nullify Biden ’ s victory and appoint their own electors for Trump .
The Republican leaders of Michigan ’ s legislature have been summoned to the White House on Friday to discuss this plan .
Such a move would not only be a breathtaking nullification of the will of the voters without parallel in American democracy , it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ No state legislature in our country ’ s history ever has done what Donald Trump is apparently agitating for the Michigan state legislature to do , which is to ignore the results of a popular vote election and wrest control from the voters , ” Biden campaign lawyer Bob Bauer said on a press call Friday .
“ The Constitution does not permit a state legislature to do what Donald Trump wants the Michigan state legislature to do.
” State legislatures have no authority over how election results are certified : Electors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is certified as the winner of the election .
State legislatures play no role in this process .
In Wisconsin , the chair of the Elections Commission , a Democrat , certifies the election based on county results .
In Michigan , certification is done by the counties and the state board of canvassers .
In Arizona , Georgia , Nevada , and Pennsylvania , the secretary of state is in charge of certification .
The winner should be certified in all of these states in a matter of days .
If the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ December 8 , six days before the electors formally meet , Congress must accept them .
State electors must be based on the popular vote : State law is very clear that electors are chosen based on the popular vote winner of a state .
Never in US history has a state legislature appointed electors to a candidate who lost the state ’ s popular vote .
Many Republican officials have already acknowledged this .
“ Michigan election law clearly requires that the state ’ s electors must be those nominated by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Legislature , ” Michigan House Republicans said in a statement Friday .
“ The electors are selected by the winner of the popular vote , ” Pennsylvania Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman , a Republican , said this week .
“ That is in our state statute.
” Moreover , it would violate the due process clause of the US Constitution for the legislature to attempt to change the law after the election to give it the power to appoint its own electors .
And in the case of Michigan , Pennsylvania , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ governors would veto any legislation proposing to do that .
State legislature can only appoint their own electors if voters “ failed to make a choice ” : The only situation where state legislatures could conceivably appoint their own electors , according to federal law , is if they believe voters failed to deliver a conclusive result for the election .
That almost happened during the 2000 election in Florida , when the Republican-controlled legislature appeared ready to appoint its own electors for George W. Bush because the election had not been settled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was due to soon meet .
The Supreme Court ruling in Bush v. Gore effectively handed the state to Bush on December 12 , two days before the electors met , negating such a scenario .
But this is not the 2000 election in Florida .
Biden ’ s margin in every close state is far greater than 537 votes , and Trump has won only two cases out of 33 post-election legal challenges , failing to come anywhere close to altering the results .
The voters made a clear choice , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Electoral College .
Overturning it would require GOP state legislatures in three states to nullify the will of their voters , which is almost unthinkable .
The prospect for gridlock is greatest in Michigan , since the state canvassing board is deadlocked between two Democrats and two Republicans , and at least one GOP member has already signified he may vote to reject certification .
( Republicans on the Wayne County canvassing board initially rejected certification , then backtracked and certified the results , then sought to withdraw their certification after speaking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unprecedented , given that Biden won the state by 154,000 votes , but also legally dubious , since the state board is supposed to be a “ purely ministerial ” body according to state law that simply validates the results from the counties .
“ If the state board deadlocks , that would mean two of the canvassers would not be doing their legal duty , because the law doesn ’ t give them any discretion at this point , ” says Samuel Bagenstos , a professor of law at the University of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for civil rights in the Justice Department in the Obama administration .
“ All of the returns are in , and their job is just to count those returns and certify the election.
” Under such a scenario , Michigan ’ s Democratic governor , Gretchen Whitmer , has the authority to replace the dissenting Republicans .
More likely , Democrats would go to court to seek a swift order forcing the board to certify the election .
There are many precedents for this .
In 2018 , for example , the board @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a ballot initiative proposing an independent redistricting commission , and within six days the Michigan Supreme Court ordered the state to approve the language .
“ When canvassers have refused to do their duty in the past , they ’ ve been taken to state courts , and the courts have issued mandamus orders against them requiring them to do their duty , ” says Bagenstos .
A deadlock by the canvassing board would certainly lead to chaos and uncertainty , but legal experts in Michigan believe the courts would act quickly to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deadline to appoint electors , so the state legislature would not have a chance to act .
Governors have the authority to override state legislators : It ’ s possible the GOP state legislatures will still seek to nominate their own slate of electors in defiance of state and federal law and leave it to Congress to sort out .
Around the same time , the Democratic governors of Michigan , Pennsylvania , and Wisconsin would nominate their own electors based on the official results of their state .
Under such a scenario @ @ @ @ @ @ @ If the Senate & House split over which of two competing slates of electors to count from a state , the slate of electors certified by that state ’ s governor prevails , ” Georgetown University law professor Joshua Geltzer explained in a tweet Friday , citing the Electoral Count Act , which has a “ gubernatorial tie-breaker.
” Of course , the fact that we ’ re even discussing this nightmare scenario in light of Biden ’ s clear victory is evidence of how far Republicans will go to undermine the democratic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t succeed doesn ’ t make it any less corrosive to democracy .
On Friday , Bauer neatly summed up Trump ’ s post-election maneuverings : “ It ’ s outrageous , but it ’ s also pathetic .
”

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After losing nearly every major legal case seeking to throw out ballots cast for Joe Biden in key states, the Trump campaign has pivoted to a new strategy: seeking to persuade GOP-controlled legislatures in states like Michigan and Pennsylvania to nullify Biden’s victory and appoint their own electors for Trump. The Republican leaders of Michigan’s legislature have been summoned to the White House on Friday to discuss this plan.
Such a move would not only be a breathtaking nullification of the will of the voters without parallel in American democracy, it is almost certainly illegal and unconstitutional.
“No state legislature in our country’s history ever has done what Donald Trump is apparently agitating for the Michigan state legislature to do, which is to ignore the results of a popular vote election and wrest control from the voters,” Biden campaign lawyer Bob Bauer said on a press call Friday. “The Constitution does not permit a state legislature to do what Donald Trump wants the Michigan state legislature to do.”
Here’s are the facts:
State legislatures have no authority over how election results are certified:
Electors are chosen based on the candidate who is certified as the winner of the election. State legislatures play no role in this process. In Wisconsin, the chair of the Elections Commission, a Democrat, certifies the election based on county results. In Michigan, certification is done by the counties and the state board of canvassers. In Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and Pennsylvania, the secretary of state is in charge of certification. The winner should be certified in all of these states in a matter of days. If the results are certified and electors chosen by December 8, six days before the electors formally meet, Congress must accept them.
“The electors are selected by the winner of the popular vote,” said Pennsylvania Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, a Republican.
State electors must be based on the popular vote:
State law is very clear that electors are chosen based on the popular vote winner of a state. Never in US history has a state legislature appointed electors to a candidate who lost the state’s popular vote.
Many Republican officials have already acknowledged this. “Michigan election law clearly requires that the state’s electors must be those nominated by the party that received the most votes—not the Legislature,” Michigan House Republicans said in a statement Friday.
“The electors are selected by the winner of the popular vote,” Pennsylvania Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, a Republican, said this week. “That is in our state statute.”
Moreover, it would violate the due process clause of the US Constitution for the legislature to attempt to change the law after the election to give it the power to appoint its own electors. And in the case of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, those states’ Democratic governors would veto any legislation proposing to do that.
State legislature can only appoint their own electors if voters “failed to make a choice”:
The only situation where state legislatures could conceivably appoint their own electors, according to federal law, is if they believe voters failed to deliver a conclusive result for the election. That almost happened during the 2000 election in Florida, when the Republican-controlled legislature appeared ready to appoint its own electors for George W. Bush because the election had not been settled by the courts and the Electoral College was due to soon meet. The Supreme Court ruling in Bush v. Gore effectively handed the state to Bush on December 12, two days before the electors met, negating such a scenario.
But this is not the 2000 election in Florida. Biden’s margin in every close state is far greater than 537 votes, and Trump has won only two cases out of 33 post-election legal challenges, failing to come anywhere close to altering the results. The voters made a clear choice, and Biden has a comfortable 306-232 majority in the Electoral College. Overturning it would require GOP state legislatures in three states to nullify the will of their voters, which is almost unthinkable.
The prospect for gridlock is greatest in Michigan, since the state canvassing board is deadlocked between two Democrats and two Republicans, and at least one GOP member has already signified he may vote to reject certification. (Republicans on the Wayne County canvassing board initially rejected certification, then backtracked and certified the results, then sought to withdraw their certification after speaking to Trump.) That would be unprecedented, given that Biden won the state by 154,000 votes, but also legally dubious, since the state board is supposed to be a “purely ministerial” body according to state law that simply validates the results from the counties.
“If the state board deadlocks, that would mean two of the canvassers would not be doing their legal duty, because the law doesn’t give them any discretion at this point,” says Samuel Bagenstos, a professor of law at the University of Michigan and the former deputy attorney general for civil rights in the Justice Department in the Obama administration. “All of the returns are in, and their job is just to count those returns and certify the election.”
Under such a scenario, Michigan’s Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer, has the authority to replace the dissenting Republicans. More likely, Democrats would go to court to seek a swift order forcing the board to certify the election. There are many precedents for this. In 2018, for example, the board deadlocked on whether to accept language for a ballot initiative proposing an independent redistricting commission, and within six days the Michigan Supreme Court ordered the state to approve the language.
“When canvassers have refused to do their duty in the past, they’ve been taken to state courts, and the courts have issued mandamus orders against them requiring them to do their duty,” says Bagenstos.
A deadlock by the canvassing board would certainly lead to chaos and uncertainty, but legal experts in Michigan believe the courts would act quickly to certify the results before the December 14 deadline to appoint electors, so the state legislature would not have a chance to act.
Governors have the authority to override state legislators:
It’s possible the GOP state legislatures will still seek to nominate their own slate of electors in defiance of state and federal law and leave it to Congress to sort out. Around the same time, the Democratic governors of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin would nominate their own electors based on the official results of their state. Under such a scenario, the governors should prevail. “If the Senate & House split over which of two competing slates of electors to count from a state, the slate of electors certified by that state’s governor prevails,” Georgetown University law professor Joshua Geltzer explained in a tweet Friday, citing the Electoral Count Act, which has a “gubernatorial tie-breaker.”
Of course, the fact that we’re even discussing this nightmare scenario in light of Biden’s clear victory is evidence of how far Republicans will go to undermine the democratic process. Just because it won’t succeed doesn’t make it any less corrosive to democracy. On Friday, Bauer neatly summed up Trump’s post-election maneuverings: “It’s outrageous, but it’s also pathetic.”


motherjones--2020-11-20--The GOP’s COVID Response: Give Me Liberty and Give Me Death

In the spring , when the coronavirus outbreak was concentrated mostly in the liberal Northeast—with a particularly vicious assault on New York City—conservatives balked at the idea of economic aid and mandatory mask-wearing .
President Donald Trump didn ’ t even believe that the city was running low on personal protective equipment for its beleaguered health care workers .
Why should the rest of the country be forced to live by so-called New York rules , was the question that some conservative intellectuals posed as they distilled the resentment of the Republican masses .
It was frustrating to watch , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ meant that no region would be spared .
And yet , I found some solace when I imagined that once the virus appeared in the states mostly run by Republicans , red state leaders and their constituents would realize the error of their ways and quickly dial back their indifference to mandatory public health in orders to save lives .
Fast forward eight months .
More than 250,000 people have died , daily infection rates are the highest on the planet , and the possibility of Republicans taking the gravity of the science @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The second wave that every public health expert told us would come crashing down in the fall and winter , overwhelming our hospitals and killing thousands of people each week , has arrived .
And yet , despite the dire straits that the entire country is in , and will be in for the foreseeable future , many Republican elected leaders across the country have followed their presidential role model and completely abdicated responsibility .
Since the beginning of the pandemic , there has been a clear way to combat the rate of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : Pay business owners and workers to stay home , make mask wearing mandatory , and restrict activities that are known superspreader events .
But the so-called most powerful country in the world ( declining fast ) made an inhumane political calculation .
What ’ s a couple of hundred thousand deaths in the name of keeping the economy and the Republican party robust ?
Of course , this has led to a predictable outcome : The United States is now at the intersection of economic calamity and mass death .
But as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , it appears that the Republican Party has gone from being indifferent to the suffering and death to actually embracing it .
Trump has been stunningly indifferent to the death toll and instead has engaged in a bender of baseless claims of voter fraud while blocking president-elect Joe Biden from getting a running start on a comprehensive , scientifically-based , public health response and vaccine distribution plan .
Meanwhile , Trump ’ s counterparts on the state-level have behaved just as badly .
On Wednesday , the White House offered Republicans a deadly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Thanksgiving recess without passing legislation for desperately needed economic aid ( Enjoy your vacation !
We ’ ll just be over here dying ! )
, Stephen Moore , one of Trump ’ s economic advisers parroted the same line from the spring , implying that all this suffering and death is simply a blue state problem ; everything is just fine in red states .
Dear reader , everything is not fine in the red states .
According to the New York Times , the top five states with the worst @ @ @ @ @ @ @ North Dakota , the situation is especially dire .
Approximately one out of 1,000 resident has died from the coronavirus .
Infections spiraled out of control and Republican Gov .
Doug Burgum finally implemented a mask mandate , eight months into the public health crisis .
By the time he took action , there were only 18 ICU hospital beds available in the entire state and nearly 800 people had died .
The virus is also out of control in South Dakota .
Gov .
Kristi Noem , who could certainly medal in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ downplayed the seriousness of the threat , denied that masks work despite the mounting scientific evidence , and has essentially abandoned South Dakotans to fend for themselves .
So far , more than 700 deaths have been reported there .
The state , which is home to just 885,000 people , has the highest test positivity rate in the country at 60 percent .
In Michigan , which is led by Democratic Gov .
Gretchen Whitmire , some Republicans in the state legislature proposed impeaching her for the crime of…implementing coronavirus restrictions .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ protesting life-saving measures , the Michigan Republicans can be found at the White House , trying to help Trump overturn the will of the voters in their own state . )
Texas Gov .
Greg Abbott infamously opened up his state much earlier than public health officials advised and tried to ban cities from implementing their own mask mandates before relenting and ordering a statewide mandate in July .
Even as infection numbers trended in a dangerous direction , Abbott resisted another a lockdown .
This strategy has led to disastrous results .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ situation has become so dire that local officials hired inmates from the county jail at $ 2 an hour to help move bodies from overflowing morgues .
Hospitals are so choked with patients that health care workers are rationing care and sending patients to other facilities .
In an effort to slow the spread , city officials implemented a shut-down order .
But a group of restaurants and the State of Texas took the city to court , where the order was thrown out .
Texas ’ attorney general , Ken Paxton , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of white collar crimes , praised the decision saying it ’ s “ important that we do not shutdown the economy ever again.
” Their economic policies with generous tax cuts to the wealthy have yet to make prosperity trickle down to the masses , but the selfish antics of the GOP have certainly reached the wider public .
With Thanksgiving right around the corner , public health officials and some elected officials are warning people to stay home and avoid large indoor gatherings—lest dinner turns into a superspreader event .
But because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ American life into a cudgel for their ridiculous culture wars , there was a revolt among conservatives .
Why ?
you may reasonably ask .
Because being told to stay home is an infringement on one of the time-honored traditions of Thanksgiving : the right to spread disease .
After all , the Pilgrims also shared their germs with unsuspecting Native people at the very first Thanksgiving .
How dare the government take away the right to accidentally kill grandma while eating flavorless potatoes with 25 of family members ?
Sensible people will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ planning giant indoor celebrations that will certainly lead to more death , with the collateral benefit of owning the libs .
One looks in vain for a single responsible Republican leader with enough sway , not to mention courage to distance him or herself from Trump , to convince these people that their lives and the lives of their loved ones are worth more than sticking it to liberals .
While the Democratic Party has had its public fumbles ( California Gov .
Newsom had to apologize for attending an indoor dinner at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ confusion with restrictions , the Republican Party ’ s inaction shows the level of disdain for the people who didn ’ t vote for them— and even those who did .
( The virus is shockingly non-partisan . )
Despite their outward messaging of being the party of freedom , of a strong economy , and ardent pro-life policies , their dereliction of duty has revealed them as the party of mass death .
After a quarter million lives lost—and many more to come—their debased version of freedom is akin to a pitch @ @ @ @ @ @ @ low , low price of your life , you too can be free .

In the spring, when the coronavirus outbreak was concentrated mostly in the liberal Northeast—with a particularly vicious assault on New York City—conservatives balked at the idea of economic aid and mandatory mask-wearing. President Donald Trump didn’t even believe that the city was running low on personal protective equipment for its beleaguered health care workers. Why should the rest of the country be forced to live by so-called New York rules, was the question that some conservative intellectuals posed as they distilled the resentment of the Republican masses. It was frustrating to watch, since clearly the virulence of the virus meant that no region would be spared. And yet, I found some solace when I imagined that once the virus appeared in the states mostly run by Republicans, red state leaders and their constituents would realize the error of their ways and quickly dial back their indifference to mandatory public health in orders to save lives.
Wrong again!
Fast forward eight months. More than 250,000 people have died, daily infection rates are the highest on the planet, and the possibility of Republicans taking the gravity of the science seriously seems like a drug-induced dream.
The second wave that every public health expert told us would come crashing down in the fall and winter, overwhelming our hospitals and killing thousands of people each week, has arrived. And yet, despite the dire straits that the entire country is in, and will be in for the foreseeable future, many Republican elected leaders across the country have followed their presidential role model and completely abdicated responsibility.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, there has been a clear way to combat the rate of infection as the world awaits a vaccine: Pay business owners and workers to stay home, make mask wearing mandatory, and restrict activities that are known superspreader events. But the so-called most powerful country in the world (declining fast) made an inhumane political calculation. What’s a couple of hundred thousand deaths in the name of keeping the economy and the Republican party robust? Of course, this has led to a predictable outcome: The United States is now at the intersection of economic calamity and mass death. But as infections skyrocket and the bodies pile up, it appears that the Republican Party has gone from being indifferent to the suffering and death to actually embracing it.
Trump has been stunningly indifferent to the death toll and instead has engaged in a bender of baseless claims of voter fraud while blocking president-elect Joe Biden from getting a running start on a comprehensive, scientifically-based, public health response and vaccine distribution plan. Meanwhile, Trump’s counterparts on the state-level have behaved just as badly. On Wednesday, the White House offered Republicans a deadly playbook. After the Senate adjourned for the Thanksgiving recess without passing legislation for desperately needed economic aid (Enjoy your vacation! We’ll just be over here dying!), Stephen Moore, one of Trump’s economic advisers parroted the same line from the spring, implying that all this suffering and death is simply a blue state problem; everything is just fine in red states.
WH economic adviser Stephen Moore on stimulus: "I don't see Republicans budging on the blue state bailout, and the economy is doing fine — much better than anyone expected. We think the economy is strong because Trump didn't go along with a deal" — Jeff Stein (@JStein_WaPo) November 18, 2020
Dear reader, everything is not fine in the red states.
According to the New York Times, the top five states with the worst outbreaks are run by Republicans. In North Dakota, the situation is especially dire. Approximately one out of 1,000 resident has died from the coronavirus. Infections spiraled out of control and Republican Gov. Doug Burgum finally implemented a mask mandate, eight months into the public health crisis. By the time he took action, there were only 18 ICU hospital beds available in the entire state and nearly 800 people had died.
Gov. Kristi Noem, who could certainly medal in the best Trump-like response olympics, has downplayed the seriousness of the threat.
The virus is also out of control in South Dakota. Gov. Kristi Noem, who could certainly medal in the best Trump-like response olympics, has downplayed the seriousness of the threat, denied that masks work despite the mounting scientific evidence, and has essentially abandoned South Dakotans to fend for themselves. So far, more than 700 deaths have been reported there. The state, which is home to just 885,000 people, has the highest test positivity rate in the country at 60 percent. In Michigan, which is led by Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmire, some Republicans in the state legislature proposed impeaching her for the crime of…implementing coronavirus restrictions. (When they’re not busy protesting life-saving measures, the Michigan Republicans can be found at the White House, trying to help Trump overturn the will of the voters in their own state.)
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott infamously opened up his state much earlier than public health officials advised and tried to ban cities from implementing their own mask mandates before relenting and ordering a statewide mandate in July. Even as infection numbers trended in a dangerous direction, Abbott resisted another a lockdown. This strategy has led to disastrous results. In El Paso, Texas, the situation has become so dire that local officials hired inmates from the county jail at $2 an hour to help move bodies from overflowing morgues. Hospitals are so choked with patients that health care workers are rationing care and sending patients to other facilities. In an effort to slow the spread, city officials implemented a shut-down order. But a group of restaurants and the State of Texas took the city to court, where the order was thrown out. Texas’ attorney general, Ken Paxton, who is being investigated for a litany of white collar crimes, praised the decision saying it’s “important that we do not shutdown the economy ever again.”
I commend the 8th Court of Appeals for stopping El Paso Co. Judge Samaniego’s shutdown order – pending the final decision on the merits. It is important that we do not shutdown the economy ever again, & this decision allows small businesses to continue to operate & pay employees. — Texas Attorney General (@TXAG) November 13, 2020
Their economic policies with generous tax cuts to the wealthy have yet to make prosperity trickle down to the masses, but the selfish antics of the GOP have certainly reached the wider public. With Thanksgiving right around the corner, public health officials and some elected officials are warning people to stay home and avoid large indoor gatherings—lest dinner turns into a superspreader event. But because the GOP has weaponized every facet of American life into a cudgel for their ridiculous culture wars, there was a revolt among conservatives. Why? you may reasonably ask. Because being told to stay home is an infringement on one of the time-honored traditions of Thanksgiving: the right to spread disease. After all, the Pilgrims also shared their germs with unsuspecting Native people at the very first Thanksgiving.
Every patriot should throw massive Thanksgiving celebrations. Make them fine and arrest all of us. The totalitarianism ends now. — Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) November 12, 2020
How dare the government take away the right to accidentally kill grandma while eating flavorless potatoes with 25 of family members? Sensible people will skip big celebrations, but conservatives are planning giant indoor celebrations that will certainly lead to more death, with the collateral benefit of owning the libs. One looks in vain for a single responsible Republican leader with enough sway, not to mention courage to distance him or herself from Trump, to convince these people that their lives and the lives of their loved ones are worth more than sticking it to liberals.
While the Democratic Party has had its public fumbles (California Gov. Newsom had to apologize for attending an indoor dinner at a high-end restaurant) and have sowed confusion with restrictions, the Republican Party’s inaction shows the level of disdain for the people who didn’t vote for them— and even those who did. (The virus is shockingly non-partisan.) Despite their outward messaging of being the party of freedom, of a strong economy, and ardent pro-life policies, their dereliction of duty has revealed them as the party of mass death. After a quarter million lives lost—and many more to come—their debased version of freedom is akin to a pitch from a crooked salesperson: For the low, low price of your life, you too can be free.


motherjones--2020-11-21--Georgia Senator David Perdue Privately Pushed for a Tax Break for Rich Sports Team Owners

This story was published originally by ProPublica , a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power .
Sign up for ProPublica ’ s Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox as soon as they are published .
Sen. David Perdue , R-Ga. , privately pushed Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin to give wealthy sports owners a lucrative tax break last year , according to a previously unreported letter obtained by ProPublica .
After the 2017 tax bill championed by President Donald Trump passed , Mnuchin and the Treasury had to write rules on how the legislation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hundreds of pages of new regulations the agency developed , Perdue wrote about his concern with one extremely narrow rule : The owners of professional sports teams were being excluded from a valuable tax break being granted to many other businesses that are structured so that the companies don ’ t pay taxes but the owners do .
“ I hope you will reconsider , ” Perdue wrote in the 2019 letter .
Many such letters on regulatory matters are signed by multiple senators , sometimes dozens .
But in this case Perdue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Why Perdue got interested in an obscure tax regulation , which would impact at most only a small set of the richest Americans , is unclear .
Perdue was not on the committee that crafted the legislation , making his in-the-weeds lobbying on the arcane regulation unusual , congressional experts said .
The Treasury ultimately declined to adopt the revision Perdue sought .
If the regulation had been altered as Perdue wanted , it would have been a boon for some of his largest donors .
Perdue has received hundreds of thousands of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of professional sports clubs , including now-fellow Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler , who co-owns Atlanta ’ s WNBA team , the Dream .
Perdue ’ s office did not answer questions about why he sent the letter or whether he discussed the matter with any sports team owners .
Perdue and Loeffler , who was appointed to her role earlier this year , are locked in runoff elections to be held Jan. 5 with the balance of the Senate in play .
If both Republicans lose , Democrats will take over the chamber @ @ @ @ @ @ @ implement more of his agenda than he would under a divided government .
Jon Ossoff , Perdue ’ s Democratic challenger , has cast Perdue as a member of the Washington “ swamp ” who caters to the interests of corporate donors .
Perdue was one of the 2017 tax bill ’ s biggest boosters , publicly describing it as a windfall for average Americans .
“ A single mom making $ 41,000 with a child is going to get a 75 % tax cut , ” he told a reporter when it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ day for the middle class.
” Before Perdue became a senator in 2015 , he was a top executive for a string of companies , including Reebok , where in the early 2000s the company inked major licensing deals with the NFL , the NBA and the NHL .
A review of his campaign contributions shows that Perdue has taken more than $ 425,000 from the owners of professional sports teams and their relatives .
Some of the top donors include the DeVos family , which owns the Orlando Magic ; John Ingram @ @ @ @ @ @ @ team ; Los Angeles Kings owner Philip Anschutz ; and Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam .
On the same day Perdue sent Mnuchin the letter , he received $ 3,000 in donations from three lobbyists at GeorgiaLink Public Affairs Group , a lobbying firm that was representing the Atlanta Braves .
Because of the Braves ’ ownership structure , it ’ s unlikely the team would have been affected by the regulation , but around that time , MLB was lobbying on the rule , urging the Treasury to give its team owners @ @ @ @ @ @ @ campaign expenditures suggest he was in Atlanta that day , Jan. 23 , 2019 .
One of the lobbyists who contributed , John “ Trip ” Martin , said he couldn ’ t recall if the contribution was made at a fundraiser but said he did not discuss the tax exemption with Perdue .
Another Perdue donor in the sports world is Loeffler .
Before being picked by Georgia ’ s governor to fill a vacant Senate seat in late 2019 , Loeffler and her husband were prominent members of the business community @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state and nationally .
Loeffler was chief executive of Bakkt , a financial services company , and remains a co-owner of the Atlanta Dream .
Her husband , Jeffrey Sprecher , is chief executive of Intercontinental Exchange , the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange .
Together , the couple has given about $ 70,000 in campaign contributions to Perdue .
Mary Brock , who co-owns the Dream with Loeffler , has given Perdue more than $ 38,000 .
Loeffler did not respond to questions about whether she discussed the tax @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the team also declined to answer specific questions , saying in a statement that “ the Atlanta Dream is not a political entity , and we are in the business of sports and entertainment .
We are focused on building a successful team on the court and creating a top fan experience.
” Like many WNBA teams , the Dream has not been profitable .
Reversing the regulation would have certainly benefited Loeffler if the Dream became profitable , but tax experts ProPublica spoke to were split about whether a reversal could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the team remained in the red .
The landmark 2017 tax overhaul didn ’ t just lower the headline tax rates for corporations such as Exxon or Facebook .
It also included a more complicated but extremely valuable tax break for businesses known as pass-throughs .
A pass-through is a corporate structure—anything from a solo graphic design operation to a large professional sports team—that doesn ’ t pay taxes itself .
Instead the income “ passes through ” to the owners , who then are on the hook for the taxes .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deduction to most , but not all , of these businesses .
The hastily drafted bill left open to interpretation which sorts of businesses would be eligible to get this tax break .
With tens of billions of dollars per year at stake , that ambiguity set off a flurry of lobbying as the Treasury Department set about writing regulations .
A group of prominent tax academics who analyzed the bill warned that “ complex rules governing this new deduction will invite gaming opportunities because there is no particular logic as to who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ As a result , taxpayers will be incentivized to engage in aggressive and socially costly tax gaming to fall within the haphazardly drawn lines.
” Perdue ’ s January 2019 letter amounted to an effort to shift those lines to the benefit of sports team owners .
He asked that Mnuchin “ allow owners of professional sports teams to claim a Section 199A deduction , ” using the formal legal citation for the tax break .
It followed a similar push in October 2018 by MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred .
In his letter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the agency to let club owners take the tax break .
Perdue also spoke on the phone to Mnuchin while the regulation was being hashed out in late November 2018 , according to the Treasury secretary ’ s public calendar .
The topic of the phone call is not specified .

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This story was published originally by ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up for ProPublica’s Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox as soon as they are published.
Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., privately pushed Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin to give wealthy sports owners a lucrative tax break last year, according to a previously unreported letter obtained by ProPublica.
After the 2017 tax bill championed by President Donald Trump passed, Mnuchin and the Treasury had to write rules on how the legislation would work in practice.
Of the hundreds of pages of new regulations the agency developed, Perdue wrote about his concern with one extremely narrow rule: The owners of professional sports teams were being excluded from a valuable tax break being granted to many other businesses that are structured so that the companies don’t pay taxes but the owners do.
“I hope you will reconsider,” Perdue wrote in the 2019 letter.
Many such letters on regulatory matters are signed by multiple senators, sometimes dozens. But in this case Perdue alone wrote and signed the letter. Why Perdue got interested in an obscure tax regulation, which would impact at most only a small set of the richest Americans, is unclear. Perdue was not on the committee that crafted the legislation, making his in-the-weeds lobbying on the arcane regulation unusual, congressional experts said.
The Treasury ultimately declined to adopt the revision Perdue sought. If the regulation had been altered as Perdue wanted, it would have been a boon for some of his largest donors. Perdue has received hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from the owners of professional sports clubs, including now-fellow Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler, who co-owns Atlanta’s WNBA team, the Dream.
Perdue’s office did not answer questions about why he sent the letter or whether he discussed the matter with any sports team owners.
Perdue and Loeffler, who was appointed to her role earlier this year, are locked in runoff elections to be held Jan. 5 with the balance of the Senate in play. If both Republicans lose, Democrats will take over the chamber, potentially allowing President-elect Joe Biden to implement more of his agenda than he would under a divided government.
Jon Ossoff, Perdue’s Democratic challenger, has cast Perdue as a member of the Washington “swamp” who caters to the interests of corporate donors.
Perdue was one of the 2017 tax bill’s biggest boosters, publicly describing it as a windfall for average Americans. “A single mom making $41,000 with a child is going to get a 75% tax cut,” he told a reporter when it passed. “This is a great day for the middle class.”
Before Perdue became a senator in 2015, he was a top executive for a string of companies, including Reebok, where in the early 2000s the company inked major licensing deals with the NFL, the NBA and the NHL.
A review of his campaign contributions shows that Perdue has taken more than $425,000 from the owners of professional sports teams and their relatives. Some of the top donors include the DeVos family, which owns the Orlando Magic; John Ingram, who owns the Nashville SC soccer team; Los Angeles Kings owner Philip Anschutz; and Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam.
On the same day Perdue sent Mnuchin the letter, he received $3,000 in donations from three lobbyists at GeorgiaLink Public Affairs Group, a lobbying firm that was representing the Atlanta Braves. Because of the Braves’ ownership structure, it’s unlikely the team would have been affected by the regulation, but around that time, MLB was lobbying on the rule, urging the Treasury to give its team owners the tax break.
Perdue’s campaign expenditures suggest he was in Atlanta that day, Jan. 23, 2019. One of the lobbyists who contributed, John “Trip” Martin, said he couldn’t recall if the contribution was made at a fundraiser but said he did not discuss the tax exemption with Perdue.
Another Perdue donor in the sports world is Loeffler.
Before being picked by Georgia’s governor to fill a vacant Senate seat in late 2019, Loeffler and her husband were prominent members of the business community and major donors to Republicans in the state and nationally.
Loeffler was chief executive of Bakkt, a financial services company, and remains a co-owner of the Atlanta Dream. Her husband, Jeffrey Sprecher, is chief executive of Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange.
Together, the couple has given about $70,000 in campaign contributions to Perdue. Mary Brock, who co-owns the Dream with Loeffler, has given Perdue more than $38,000.
Loeffler did not respond to questions about whether she discussed the tax break regulation with Perdue. A spokeswoman for the team also declined to answer specific questions, saying in a statement that “the Atlanta Dream is not a political entity, and we are in the business of sports and entertainment. We are focused on building a successful team on the court and creating a top fan experience.”
Like many WNBA teams, the Dream has not been profitable.
Reversing the regulation would have certainly benefited Loeffler if the Dream became profitable, but tax experts ProPublica spoke to were split about whether a reversal could have cut her tax burden even if the team remained in the red.
The landmark 2017 tax overhaul didn’t just lower the headline tax rates for corporations such as Exxon or Facebook. It also included a more complicated but extremely valuable tax break for businesses known as pass-throughs. A pass-through is a corporate structure—anything from a solo graphic design operation to a large professional sports team—that doesn’t pay taxes itself. Instead the income “passes through” to the owners, who then are on the hook for the taxes.
The new tax law granted a 20% deduction to most, but not all, of these businesses. The hastily drafted bill left open to interpretation which sorts of businesses would be eligible to get this tax break. With tens of billions of dollars per year at stake, that ambiguity set off a flurry of lobbying as the Treasury Department set about writing regulations.
A group of prominent tax academics who analyzed the bill warned that “complex rules governing this new deduction will invite gaming opportunities because there is no particular logic as to who clearly fits into the preferred categories. As a result, taxpayers will be incentivized to engage in aggressive and socially costly tax gaming to fall within the haphazardly drawn lines.”
Perdue’s January 2019 letter amounted to an effort to shift those lines to the benefit of sports team owners. He asked that Mnuchin “allow owners of professional sports teams to claim a Section 199A deduction,” using the formal legal citation for the tax break.
It followed a similar push in October 2018 by MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred. In his letter to the Treasury, Manfred pleaded for the agency to let club owners take the tax break.
Perdue also spoke on the phone to Mnuchin while the regulation was being hashed out in late November 2018, according to the Treasury secretary’s public calendar. The topic of the phone call is not specified.


motherjones--2020-11-21--As World Leaders Meet to Talk Pandemic, Trump Checks Out and Hits the Links

Donald Trump briefly attended a virtual world summit Saturday morning—long enough to brag about himself—and then returned to spending his morning as he does on any other weekend : golfing and tweeting .
The annual Group of 20 meeting was set to be hosted in Saudi Arabia this year , but due to the COVID-19 pandemic , global leaders have been meeting virtually this weekend .
The virtual format has created some weirdness—like the familiar-to-most-Americans-by-now collage of faces on a screen virtually “ meeting , ” but populated by Russian president Vladimir Putin , Saudi King Salman , and Chinese @ @ @ @ @ @ @ drastically lowered the bar for how much effort a world leader needs to make to attend .
Trump managed several minutes , and mainly the part in which he got to speak .
And even that was weird .
According to audio obtained by the Observer newspaper , Trump opened by talking about how he plans on attending the meeting again , although he will leave office on January 20 and it ’ s a meeting for world leaders .
“ It ’ s been a great honor to work with you , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you again for a long time , ” Trump reportedly said .
He also falsely took credit for the development of two potential COVID-19 vaccines through his administration ’ s Operation Warp Speed .
According to the Observer , no other world leader discussed their own domestic politics , and the majority of comments were focused on the global crisis and how to stop it .
Bloomberg also reports that “ [ u ] nlike other leaders , Trump did not speak of the need to share vaccines around the world , especially @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fellow leaders to reject lockdown measures as a tool to control the virus , one official said.
” Trump left the meeting after he spoke , as British prime minister Boris Johnson was speaking .
Although a number of other leaders also left the meeting after delivering comments , Trump is the only one who took to Twitter to start tweeting , in all-caps , about conspiracy theories .
A number of leaders , including German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Emmanuel Macron , returned to the virtual summit after the opening @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the pandemic more specifically .
Trump instead was spotted heading towards the golf course , his 303rd visit to a golf course since he took office .

Donald Trump briefly attended a virtual world summit Saturday morning—long enough to brag about himself—and then returned to spending his morning as he does on any other weekend: golfing and tweeting.
The annual Group of 20 meeting was set to be hosted in Saudi Arabia this year, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, global leaders have been meeting virtually this weekend. The virtual format has created some weirdness—like the familiar-to-most-Americans-by-now collage of faces on a screen virtually “meeting,” but populated by Russian president Vladimir Putin, Saudi King Salman, and Chinese president Xi Jinping—but it’s also drastically lowered the bar for how much effort a world leader needs to make to attend. Trump managed several minutes, and mainly the part in which he got to speak. And even that was weird.
According to audio obtained by the Observer newspaper, Trump opened by talking about how he plans on attending the meeting again, although he will leave office on January 20 and it’s a meeting for world leaders.
“It’s been a great honor to work with you, and I look forward to working with you again for a long time,” Trump reportedly said. He also falsely took credit for the development of two potential COVID-19 vaccines through his administration’s Operation Warp Speed. According to the Observer, no other world leader discussed their own domestic politics, and the majority of comments were focused on the global crisis and how to stop it. Bloomberg also reports that “[u]nlike other leaders, Trump did not speak of the need to share vaccines around the world, especially with poorer nations. He also urged fellow leaders to reject lockdown measures as a tool to control the virus, one official said.”
Trump left the meeting after he spoke, as British prime minister Boris Johnson was speaking. Although a number of other leaders also left the meeting after delivering comments, Trump is the only one who took to Twitter to start tweeting, in all-caps, about conspiracy theories.
Big voter fraud information coming out concerning Georgia. Stay tuned! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 21, 2020
Trump also promoted a web television program:
Check out @PastorDScott’s new show tonight at 7:00pm on @RealAmVoice. Good luck Darrell! https://t.co/naGlg48evP — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 21, 2020
A number of leaders, including German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Emmanuel Macron, returned to the virtual summit after the opening session to discuss the global handling of the pandemic more specifically. Trump instead was spotted heading towards the golf course, his 303rd visit to a golf course since he took office.


motherjones--2020-11-23--Will Trump’s Accusers Finally Get Their Day In Court?

One chilly afternoon in November 2019 , a process server stepped through the gold-rimmed doors of Trump Tower on New York ’ s Fifth Avenue to deliver a copy of an explosive lawsuit and a court summons to President Donald Trump .
In those papers , E. Jean Carroll declared that Trump had raped her in a department store dressing room in late 1995 or early 1996 .
Carroll , a veteran advice columnist at Elle magazine and one of at least 26 women who have accused Trump of sexual misconduct since the 1970s , claimed that Trump had subsequently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her , accused her of fabricating her story to sell books , and insulted her appearance in statements to reporters .
She was now suing him for defamation , demanding a retraction and damages .
“ Nobody in this nation is above the law , ” her complaint began .
“ Nobody is entitled to conceal acts of sexual assault behind a wall of defamatory falsehoods and deflections.
” But before her claims could be heard in a New York state court , Trump needed to be served .
First , the process @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Service checkpoint .
Then he spoke to the concierge , who called upstairs to a legal office before refusing to accept the documents .
The server tried to leave the sheaf of papers and head back toward the lobby ’ s golden doors , but Secret Service officers stopped him , ordered him to take the papers , and kicked him out .
One officer said they had instructions to keep process servers from leaving documents with the concierge , according to an affidavit .
Three subsequent attempts to serve papers at Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ended similarly .
For nearly four years , Trump has wielded the office of the presidency as a shield against lawsuits from women who have accused him of sexually assaulting them before his election .
“ It started the moment the lawsuit was filed , ” Carroll ’ s lawyer , Roberta Kaplan , says in an email .
Trump claimed presidential immunity in state court , argued that he couldn ’ t be sued in New York because of his temporary residence in the White House , and had the Department of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that he ’ s lost his office to President-elect Joe Biden , Trump is facing the prospect of finally having to deal with both Carroll ’ s claim and a similar defamation lawsuit filed in New York by former Apprentice contestant Summer Zervos .
Legal experts say that both women ’ s cases could proceed quickly once Trump returns to civilian life .
And that means the soon-to-be-former president could imminently face the question of either settling their claims or going to trial over the truth of their allegations .
Zervos first began @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weeks of his 2016 campaign , after he claimed that he had never sexually assaulted women in the way he had bragged in the Access Hollywood tape .
Zervos alleged that Trump had kissed her , groped her breast , and thrust his genitals on her without consent during two 2007 meetings to discuss job opportunities .
Trump denied it all , as well as the allegations of other accusers who told their stories in 2016 , tweeting that they were “ 100 % fabricated and made-up.
” Zervos sued him for defamation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ few days before his inauguration .
Since then , Zervos ’ case has “ lingered in the courts for a significantly longer time than you would typically expect of a defamation lawsuit , ” says Amy Kristin Sanders , a media law expert and associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin .
Again , Trump ’ s office protected him .
A few months after Zervos filed her case , Trump lawyer Marc Kasowitz debuted an argument he has since returned to repeatedly , insisting that the Constitution prevents a sitting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Zervos ’ lawsuit should be dismissed , he argued in a motion , because “ a state court can not control President Trump—who uniquely embodies the Executive Branch—or interfere with his ability to perform his duties.
” Neither the trial court judge nor a state appeals court was convinced .
( Nor was the US Supreme Court when Trump tried to block a grand jury from subpoenaing his tax records using a very similar argument . )
“ Though he is tasked with significant responsibilities , the President is still a person @ @ @ @ @ @ @ law , ” wrote Justice Dianne Renwick of the New York Appellate Division , First Judicial Department .
By appealing those decisions again and again , Trump was able to keep delaying Zervos ’ lawsuit—and , crucially , to put off being deposed by her lawyers .
During a pretrial deposition , Trump would “ certainly ” be asked under oath about whether he sexually assaulted Zervos , Sanders says .
Plus , any deposition is an unwelcome prospect for a legal team whose client has a well-established inability to keep his mouth @ @ @ @ @ @ @ loose cannon , ” she says .
“ You have no idea what he ’ s going to say .
You have no idea what he could open himself up to.
” ( Neither Zervos ’ nor Trump ’ s lawyers responded to requests for comment . )
For now , Zervos ’ case is on hold while the Court of Appeals , New York ’ s highest court , considers Kasowitz ’ s presidential immunity argument .
Yet once Trump is no longer a sitting president , Kaplan predicts , the court @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , on the other hand , isn ’ t just seeking to depose Trump ; she wants to get a DNA sample .
Shortly after she filed her lawsuit ( a judge ultimately permitted her to serve Trump by mail ) , her legal team asked a lab to look for genetic material on a black Donna Karan dress she says she was wearing when Trump allegedly raped her .
The results turned up unidentified male DNA , which , if matched to Trump , could help convince a jury that her allegations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ analyzing DNA from one of Trump ’ s relatives , Kaplan says her team ’ s experts have concluded that a sample from Trump ’ s niece , Mary , would not be useful .
Kaplan also is representing Mary Trump in a fraud lawsuit against her uncle . )
Trump tried to get Carroll ’ s lawsuit put on hold until New York ’ s high court ruled on presidential immunity—and once again , a judge declined .
But as Trump faced the prospect of handing over a cheek swab last fall @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
At the request of the White House , DOJ lawyers argued that Carroll ’ s suit rightfully should be against the United States government , not Trump personally , because he was acting within the scope of his employment when he called her a liar and said she was “ not my type.
” In other words , taxpayer-funded lawyers were trying to help the president avoid facing his accuser in court .
Barbara McQuade , a former US attorney , explained at the time that this is a “ fairly routine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in work-related cases that do not involve the president , such as a mail carrier who is sued after an accident involving a postal truck .
If the DOJ ’ s move had succeeded , Carroll ’ s lawsuit would have been dismissed since the United States can ’ t be sued for defamation .
So far , the gambit hasn ’ t worked .
On October 26 , a federal judge ruled that the president didn ’ t count as a government employee—and even if he did , Trump ’ s statements @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The DOJ has 60 days to appeal that ruling , according to Kaplan .
Regardless , it will soon be up to Biden ’ s administration to decide whether the government continues intervening on Trump ’ s behalf .
“ Trump now has , essentially , a law firm called the Department of Justice working for him personally , ” says Bruce Johnson , a First Amendment lawyer .
“ That is one of the advantages that he will not have after January 20 , 2021.
” Defamation lawsuits are , at least @ @ @ @ @ @ @ If a statement is true , it can not be defamatory .
That means if either of these cases proceeds to trial , courtroom arguments will center on whether Trump was telling the truth when he called Zervos and Carroll liars—and whether they can convince jurors that Trump assaulted them .
If they win , both women want Trump to retract his statements and pay damages .
“ Anytime you have a defamation lawsuit , we always have to look at the incidents that underlie the alleged defamatory statements , ” Sanders says @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will hinge on how much evidence is there that they didn ’ t lie , that these incidents actually took place.
” According to Kaplan , Carroll is open to a settlement only if it allows her to keep talking and writing about what Trump allegedly did to her .
Settling the cases once he leaves office might be an appealing option for Trump , who could make them go away outside the glare of the campaign spotlight .
“ He ’ s a guy who will always promise that he ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when push comes to shove , he will cough up money to settle , ” Johnson says , pointing to the federal fraud lawsuit against Trump University .
Leah Litman , an assistant law professor at the University of Michigan , sees it another way .
“ I honestly don ’ t think he would worry about the political fallout , ” she says .
“ I think he thinks attacking these women is good for him.
” For now , Carroll ’ s case is proceeding .
“ Once he is no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more time to devote to responding to the discovery requests in our case , including producing his documents , providing a DNA sample , and having his deposition taken , ” Kaplan says .
“ We look forward to moving ahead with our case .
”

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One chilly afternoon in November 2019, a process server stepped through the gold-rimmed doors of Trump Tower on New York’s Fifth Avenue to deliver a copy of an explosive lawsuit and a court summons to President Donald Trump.
In those papers, E. Jean Carroll declared that Trump had raped her in a department store dressing room in late 1995 or early 1996. Carroll, a veteran advice columnist at Elle magazine and one of at least 26 women who have accused Trump of sexual misconduct since the 1970s, claimed that Trump had subsequently smeared her when he denied he knew her, accused her of fabricating her story to sell books, and insulted her appearance in statements to reporters. She was now suing him for defamation, demanding a retraction and damages. “Nobody in this nation is above the law,” her complaint began. “Nobody is entitled to conceal acts of sexual assault behind a wall of defamatory falsehoods and deflections.”
But before her claims could be heard in a New York state court, Trump needed to be served. First, the process server made his way through a Secret Service checkpoint. Then he spoke to the concierge, who called upstairs to a legal office before refusing to accept the documents. The server tried to leave the sheaf of papers and head back toward the lobby’s golden doors, but Secret Service officers stopped him, ordered him to take the papers, and kicked him out. One officer said they had instructions to keep process servers from leaving documents with the concierge, according to an affidavit. Three subsequent attempts to serve papers at Trump Tower and one at the White House ended similarly.
For nearly four years, Trump has wielded the office of the presidency as a shield against lawsuits from women who have accused him of sexually assaulting them before his election. “It started the moment the lawsuit was filed,” Carroll’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, says in an email. Trump claimed presidential immunity in state court, argued that he couldn’t be sued in New York because of his temporary residence in the White House, and had the Department of Justice intervene on his behalf.
Now that he’s lost his office to President-elect Joe Biden, Trump is facing the prospect of finally having to deal with both Carroll’s claim and a similar defamation lawsuit filed in New York by former Apprentice contestant Summer Zervos. Legal experts say that both women’s cases could proceed quickly once Trump returns to civilian life. And that means the soon-to-be-former president could imminently face the question of either settling their claims or going to trial over the truth of their allegations.
“Trump now has, essentially, a law firm called the Department of Justice working for him personally.”
Zervos first began speaking out about Trump in the last weeks of his 2016 campaign, after he claimed that he had never sexually assaulted women in the way he had bragged in the Access Hollywood tape. Zervos alleged that Trump had kissed her, groped her breast, and thrust his genitals on her without consent during two 2007 meetings to discuss job opportunities. Trump denied it all, as well as the allegations of other accusers who told their stories in 2016, tweeting that they were “100% fabricated and made-up.” Zervos sued him for defamation over that claim and similar statements a few days before his inauguration.
Since then, Zervos’ case has “lingered in the courts for a significantly longer time than you would typically expect of a defamation lawsuit,” says Amy Kristin Sanders, a media law expert and associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin. Again, Trump’s office protected him. A few months after Zervos filed her case, Trump lawyer Marc Kasowitz debuted an argument he has since returned to repeatedly, insisting that the Constitution prevents a sitting president from being sued in state court. Zervos’ lawsuit should be dismissed, he argued in a motion, because “a state court cannot control President Trump—who uniquely embodies the Executive Branch—or interfere with his ability to perform his duties.” Neither the trial court judge nor a state appeals court was convinced. (Nor was the US Supreme Court when Trump tried to block a grand jury from subpoenaing his tax records using a very similar argument.) “Though he is tasked with significant responsibilities, the President is still a person, and he is not above the law,” wrote Justice Dianne Renwick of the New York Appellate Division, First Judicial Department.
By appealing those decisions again and again, Trump was able to keep delaying Zervos’ lawsuit—and, crucially, to put off being deposed by her lawyers. During a pretrial deposition, Trump would “certainly” be asked under oath about whether he sexually assaulted Zervos, Sanders says. Plus, any deposition is an unwelcome prospect for a legal team whose client has a well-established inability to keep his mouth shut. “He’s a loose cannon,” she says. “You have no idea what he’s going to say. You have no idea what he could open himself up to.” (Neither Zervos’ nor Trump’s lawyers responded to requests for comment.)
For now, Zervos’ case is on hold while the Court of Appeals, New York’s highest court, considers Kasowitz’s presidential immunity argument. Yet once Trump is no longer a sitting president, Kaplan predicts, the court will likely dismiss his appeal.
“I think he thinks attacking these women is good for him.”
Carroll, on the other hand, isn’t just seeking to depose Trump; she wants to get a DNA sample. Shortly after she filed her lawsuit (a judge ultimately permitted her to serve Trump by mail), her legal team asked a lab to look for genetic material on a black Donna Karan dress she says she was wearing when Trump allegedly raped her. The results turned up unidentified male DNA, which, if matched to Trump, could help convince a jury that her allegations were true. (Dispelling speculation about analyzing DNA from one of Trump’s relatives, Kaplan says her team’s experts have concluded that a sample from Trump’s niece, Mary, would not be useful. Kaplan also is representing Mary Trump in a fraud lawsuit against her uncle.)
Trump tried to get Carroll’s lawsuit put on hold until New York’s high court ruled on presidential immunity—and once again, a judge declined. But as Trump faced the prospect of handing over a cheek swab last fall, the Department of Justice swooped in. At the request of the White House, DOJ lawyers argued that Carroll’s suit rightfully should be against the United States government, not Trump personally, because he was acting within the scope of his employment when he called her a liar and said she was “not my type.” In other words, taxpayer-funded lawyers were trying to help the president avoid facing his accuser in court. Barbara McQuade, a former US attorney, explained at the time that this is a “fairly routine thing” for the feds to do—generally in work-related cases that do not involve the president, such as a mail carrier who is sued after an accident involving a postal truck.
If the DOJ’s move had succeeded, Carroll’s lawsuit would have been dismissed since the United States can’t be sued for defamation. So far, the gambit hasn’t worked. On October 26, a federal judge ruled that the president didn’t count as a government employee—and even if he did, Trump’s statements about Carroll weren’t employment-related. The DOJ has 60 days to appeal that ruling, according to Kaplan. Regardless, it will soon be up to Biden’s administration to decide whether the government continues intervening on Trump’s behalf. “Trump now has, essentially, a law firm called the Department of Justice working for him personally,” says Bruce Johnson, a First Amendment lawyer. “That is one of the advantages that he will not have after January 20, 2021.”
Defamation lawsuits are, at least in theory, about the truth: If a statement is true, it cannot be defamatory. That means if either of these cases proceeds to trial, courtroom arguments will center on whether Trump was telling the truth when he called Zervos and Carroll liars—and whether they can convince jurors that Trump assaulted them. If they win, both women want Trump to retract his statements and pay damages. “Anytime you have a defamation lawsuit, we always have to look at the incidents that underlie the alleged defamatory statements,” Sanders says. “Fundamentally, this defamation case will hinge on how much evidence is there that they didn’t lie, that these incidents actually took place.” According to Kaplan, Carroll is open to a settlement only if it allows her to keep talking and writing about what Trump allegedly did to her.
Settling the cases once he leaves office might be an appealing option for Trump, who could make them go away outside the glare of the campaign spotlight. “He’s a guy who will always promise that he’s going to fight a case, but when push comes to shove, he will cough up money to settle,” Johnson says, pointing to the federal fraud lawsuit against Trump University. Leah Litman, an assistant law professor at the University of Michigan, sees it another way. “I honestly don’t think he would worry about the political fallout,” she says. “I think he thinks attacking these women is good for him.”
For now, Carroll’s case is proceeding. “Once he is no longer president, Donald Trump should have more time to devote to responding to the discovery requests in our case, including producing his documents, providing a DNA sample, and having his deposition taken,” Kaplan says. “We look forward to moving ahead with our case.”