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2020 Elections

  1. Elections

    Cable carnage: Trump turns CNN town hall into televised combat

    The former president’s town hall at CNN began with more 2020 denialism and went on from there.

    Former President Donald Trump refused to say he had lost the 2020 presidential election and defended his actions on Jan. 6 during a town hall event in New Hampshire on Wednesday night.

    In what became an hour-long form of television combat on a variety of issues, Trump received routine applause from the Republican and Republican-leaning crowd, including over his dismissal of a recent verdict that found him guilty of sexual assault. He did not flinch when asked by the moderator, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, if he owed his one-time VP Mike Pence an apology for the riot he helped incite while Pence was at the capitol.

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  2. Legal

    8 false Trump electors have accepted immunity deals, lawyer says

    The new revelation is the latest sign that a Georgia prosecutor is advancing her investigation into Donald Trump’s bid to subvert the 2020 election.

    Eight Republican activists who falsely claimed to be legitimate presidential electors for Donald Trump have accepted immunity deals from the Atlanta-area district attorney investigating Trump’s bid to subvert the 2020 election.

    Kimberly Debrow, a lawyer for the false electors, revealed the arrangement — reached last month — in a court filing Friday, opposing a bid by District Attorney Fani Willis to disqualify her from representing the large group.

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  3. Elections

    Former Trump campaign staffer subpoenaed by DOJ is now working for House committee on elections

    The FBI subpoenaed Thomas Lane for his records at his Virginia home. He now works on the House Administration Committee.

    A former Trump campaign staffer who was subpoenaed by the Department of Justice as part of its investigation into the plot to overturn the 2020 election, is currently serving on the House committee overseeing U.S. elections.

    The House Administration Committee’s employment roster shows Thomas Lane is earning a $155,000 salary in his role as elections counsel. His LinkedIn page confirms his employment began a few months ago.

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  4. Elections

    Failed secretary of state candidate Jim Marchant joins Nevada Senate race

    A noted 2020 election-denier, the former state lawmaker lost his race for Nevada secretary of state last fall.

    Former Nevada Republican state lawmaker Jim Marchant announced Tuesday he is entering the race for U.S. Senate, looking to unseat incumbent Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen in 2024.

    Marchant, who has led a group of Donald Trump supporters who claim the 2020 election was stolen from the former president, was endorsed by Trump in his failed secretary of state bid in Nevada last year. He also lost his bid for a House seat in 2020 to Democrat Steven Horsford and sued unsuccessfully to overturn that result.

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  5. Elections

    How Jill Biden helped Joe get to yes on running for reelection at 80

    She is the not-so-secret weapon behind her husband. And unlike four years ago, she didn’t have reservations before he chose to run.

    Four years ago, Jill Biden was hesitant about her husband making a White House run, fearing the toll it could take on him and the family.

    In the months before Joe Biden formally announced he'd make a reelection bid, she had no such reservations.

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  6. Florida

    Appeals court upholds Florida voting restrictions approved by GOP lawmakers

    The Legislature approved the measure in the wake of the 2020 election.

    TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A federal appeals court sided with Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday when it overturned a lower court’s decision on a controversial voting law.

    That law, approved by the state’s Republican-controlled Legislature in 2021, placed restrictions on the use of drop boxes and set new requirements for voter registration groups, among other things. A federal judge in March 2022 ruled that the law was discriminatory against minorities and placed unconstitutional burdens on voters.

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  7. Legal

    Pence appears before Jan. 6 grand jury

    Pence’s closed-door appearance marks an extraordinary flashpoint in special counsel Jack Smith’s probe.

    Former Vice President Mike Pence testified Thursday before a federal grand jury investigating former President Donald Trump’s effort to subvert the 2020 election, according to two people familiar with the matter.

    Pence’s closed-door appearance marks an extraordinary flashpoint in special counsel Jack Smith’s probe. Smith’s team is investigating Trump’s last-ditch bid to pressure Pence into single-handedly derailing the transfer of power from Trump to Joe Biden on Jan. 6, 2021.

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  8. legal

    Proud Boys leaders: Trump caused Jan. 6 attack

    A lawyer for Enrique Tarrio told jurors that prosecutors are using him as a “scapegoat” for the former president.

    Updated

    Former Proud Boys national chair Enrique Tarrio — the man prosecutors have portrayed as the ringleader of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol — told jurors Tuesday that he’s merely a scapegoat for the real culprit: Donald Trump.

    “It was Donald Trump’s words. It was his motivation. It was his anger that caused what occurred on January 6th in your amazing and beautiful city,” said Nayib Hassan, Tarrio’s lawyer, during closing arguments in a seditious conspiracy trial stemming from the Jan. 6 attack.

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  9. Media

    The fallen Fox News stars

    Many of these prominent Fox News figures departed the network abruptly.

    The sudden announcement of Tucker Carlson’s departure from Fox News rocked the media world on Monday — but he’s far from the only prominent figure to make a very public exit from the network.

    Carlson started as a contributor at Fox News in 2009, and moved into his role hosting the 8 p.m. hour in 2017. As the host of “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” he was one of the most-watched personalities on the cable news channel, known for pushing conservative and sometimes conspiratorial views.

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  10. Legal

    Georgia prosecutor probing Trump reveals new details of active investigation

    The Fulton County district attorney disclosed new interviews with Republicans who falsely claimed to be presidential electors.

    The Atlanta-area prosecutor investigating efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election indicated Tuesday that she has conducted fresh interviews with some of the Republican activists who falsely claimed to be Georgia’s legitimate presidential electors.

    In a court filing Tuesday, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis noted that her office conducted those interviews on April 12 and April 14, suggesting an active and ongoing investigation. Willis disclosed in the filing that more than one of the false electors had described potential violations of Georgia state law by another one.

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  11. legal

    Judge delays trial over Fox News and 2020 election lies

    The judge postponed the trial one day, until Tuesday.

    Updated

    NEW YORK — Without citing a reason, the Delaware judge overseeing a voting machine company’s $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News announced late Sunday that he was delaying the start of the trial until Tuesday.

    The trial, which has drawn international interest, had been scheduled to start Monday morning with jury selection and opening statements.

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  12. Legal

    Fox attorneys in libel case reveal dual roles for Rupert Murdoch

    The revelation angered the judge when it came up at pretrial hearing.

    WILMINGTON, Del. — Attorneys defending Fox in a defamation case related to false claims about the 2020 election withheld critical information about the role company founder Rupert Murdoch played at Fox News, a revelation that angered the judge when it came up at a Tuesday hearing.

    It was not clear whether the development would affect a trial scheduled to begin Thursday with jury selection. Dominion Voting Systems is suing Fox for $1.6 billion, saying it damaged its reputation by repeatedly airing false claims that the company helped orchestrate a fraud that cost former President Donald Trump re-election.

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  13. Elections

    Election officials have ideas for stopping a 2024 crisis before it even starts

    A new report of election administration recommendations aims to turn down the temperature.

    Election officials have one major goal ahead of 2024: Make Democracy Boring Again.

    Election administration has faced an unprecedented amount of scrutiny — and tumult — since the 2020 election. Officials have faced death threats and unprecedented public harassment stemming from mis- and disinformation. Many workers are leaving the field.

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  14. Elections

    Liberals take over Wisconsin Supreme Court — with major implications for abortion

    Janet Protasiewicz prevailed in the high-stakes race.

    Updated

    Liberals flipped the ideological makeup of Wisconsin's Supreme Court on Tuesday. Janet Protasiewicz’s win in a high-stakes race for an open court seat means the new 4-3 majority is much more likely to strike down a controversial 19th century abortion ban there.

    Protasiewicz, a liberal judge from Milwaukee County, won her race, 56.9% to 43.1%, when the Associated Press called the race at 9:53 pm. She defeated conservative former state Supreme Court Justice Dan Kelly. The court is technically nonpartisan, but now has a 4-3 liberal majority through at least 2025.

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  15. Florida

    Florida Republicans poised to make more changes to election laws

    While Florida has seen its last two elections run without any major problems, this marks the third year in a row that legislators have advocated a long line of changes.

    TALLAHASSEE — Florida voters beware: A voter registration card may not stop you from getting charged with voter fraud if a new bill rolled out Monday by the Florida Senate becomes law.

    Senate Republicans released a 98-page comprehensive elections bill that includes a provision designed to undercut legal arguments that were made by those who were charged as part of a crackdown on voter fraud announced last August by Gov. Ron DeSantis. The lengthy bill also changes campaign finance deadlines, speeds up when local officials must scrub voter rolls for dead and ineligible voters and increases fines on voter registration groups if they break the law.

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  16. Legal

    Trump, Pence urge judge to reject special counsel bid to obtain former VP’s testimony

    It’s one of the weightiest constitutional fights for the special counsel.

    Attorneys for Donald Trump and Mike Pence were in federal court Thursday to fight efforts by special counsel Jack Smith to subpoena the former vice president as part of the investigation into Trump’s effort to subvert the 2020 election.

    Four of Trump’s lawyers — Evan Corcoran, Jim Trusty, John Rowley and Tim Parlatore — joined Pence lawyer Emmet Flood in their efforts to scuttle Smith’s subpoena, which seeks Pence’s testimony about the weeks and months preceding the violent Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. There, rioters loyal to Trump forced Pence to flee for safety after Pence defied Trump’s demands that he single-handedly stop the transfer of power to Joe Biden.

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  17. Legal

    Four more Oath Keepers convicted of Jan. 6 felonies

    The convictions add to a growing roster of Oath Keepers who are facing lengthy prison terms for their role in the Capitol attack.

    Four more members of the Oath Keepers were convicted Monday of conspiracy to obstruct Congress’ Jan. 6 proceedings, bringing the number of members of the group found guilty by juries of felonies related to the Capitol attack to more than a dozen.

    Jurors found Sandra Parker, Laura Steele, Connie Meggs and William Isaacs each guilty of the most significant charges they faced: conspiracy to obstruct Congress’ proceedings, obstruction of an official proceeding, and conspiracy to prevent a federal officer from discharging duties.

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  18. Politics

    Inside the Trump world-organized retreat to plot out Biden oversight

    "I’m not aware of any other group that has held trainings so consistently and for such a wide range of staffers."

    A group closely aligned with former President Donald Trump helped organize a “bootcamp” for GOP congressional staff this past February, training them on how to conduct aggressive oversight of the Biden administration, according to new disclosure forms filed with the U.S. House clerk’s office.

    The sponsor, the Conservative Partnership Institute, counts Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows among its leaders and has been described as the “nerve center” for the MAGA movement and MAGA-aligned lawmakers. It was one of three organizations to host the gathering.

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  19. Legal

    Judge: Trump trade adviser Navarro must surrender White House-related emails

    The Justice Department filed suit in August to recover messages that Navarro handled through a personal account but refused to return to the National Archives after Trump left office.

    A federal judge has ordered former Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro to turn over to the government hundreds of emails that he sent or received during his nearly four years as a White House aide.

    In an opinion on Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly rejected a slew of arguments Navarro’s attorneys floated in a bid to knock out a civil suit the Justice Department filed in August to recover messages that Navarro handled through a personal ProtonMail account but refused to return to the National Archives after President Donald Trump left office.

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  20. Column | Tomorrow

    A Startling Document Predicted Jan. 6. Democrats Are Missing Its Other Warnings.

    In 2020, one hitherto unknown report accurately predicted what was to follow Biden’s election. It also laid out a plan to preserve democracy in an uncertain future.

    Weeks before the 2020 election, a secret 87-page document outlined in matter-of-fact language the threat posed by Donald Trump’s still-to-come campaign of election denial. The private paper — the existence of which has not been reported before — forecast with chilling confidence the likelihood of violence during the presidential handover and proposed a far-reaching set of political reforms to thwart Trumpism in the future.

    Americans remember that dark winter well. But the impetus for structural change has faded, even among Democrats who still privately seethe about the country's broken political system — and fear an uglier meltdown could come in 2024 or beyond.

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