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Trump hires prominent Atlanta attorney for election probe

Trump hires prominent Atlanta attorney for election probe

ATLANTA (AP) — Donald Trump has hired a prominent Atlanta criminal defense attorney known for defending famous rappers to represent him in matters related to the special grand jury that’s investigating whether the former president illegally tried to interfere with the 2020 election in Georgia.

Drew Findling’s clients have included Cardi B, Migos and Gucci Mane, as well as comedian Katt Williams. His Twitter bio of him includes the hashtag #BillionDollarLawyer and his Instagram feed of him is filled with photos of him posing with his well-known clients.

His most recent Instagram post, dated two days after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in late June, says his signature of him is committed to “fighting to restore a woman’s right to choose, which has been destroyed by the Supreme Court,” suggesting his personal views of him do n’t align with those of Trump’s Republican Party . I have offered to defend anyone charged under Georgia’s restrictive abortion law free of charge.

After Trump insulted basketball star LeBron James’s intelligence in an August 2018 tweet, Findling called Trump the “racist architect of fraudulent Trump University” in a tweet and ended the post with “POTUS pathetic once again!”

The Findling Law Firm said in a statement released Thursday that it has been hired, along with attorneys Jennifer Little and Dwight Thomas, to represent Trump.

Findling said in an emailed statement that he is a “passionate advocate against injustice” and will “strongly defend” Trump.

“I may differ politically from many of my clients, but that doesn’t change my commitment to defend against wrongful investigations,” Findling said. “In this case, the focus on President Trump in Fulton County, Georgia is clearly an erroneous and politically driven persecution and along with my office and co-counsel, I am fully committed to defend against this injustice.”

Little, a former prosecutor, said in an emailed statement that the attorneys were “handpicked” on Trump’s behalf and that “the composition of our team only adds to the integrity of his defense.”

“A politically diverse group of attorneys with differing perspectives have all come to the same conclusion — there have been no violations of Georgia law,” she said. “We as a team look forward to vigorously defending our client and the Constitution.”

Thomas said he has extensive past experience in special grand jury investigations and is serving as a consultant. Other lawyers who have clients who are connected to the investigation have also reached out to him, he said, but he declined to name them.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis opened the investigation early last year, and the special grand jury was seated in May at her request.

Willis has confirmed since the early days of the investigation that she’s interested in a January 2021 phone call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. During that conversation, Trump suggested Raffensperger could “find” the votes needed to overturn his narrow loss in the state.

“All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have,” Trump said during that call. “Because we won the state.”

Willis last month filed petitions seeking to compel testimony before the special grand jury from seven Trump associates and advisers, including former New York mayor and Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani and US Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. And she has said that she is considering subpoenaing the former president himself.

In addition to representing high-profile musical artists and other entertainers, Findling successfully defended Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill in a racketeering trial that threatened to end his law enforcement career. Hill was acquired in 2013 on 27 felony charges in an indictment that accused him of using his office for personal gain.

Findling is currently defending Hill against charges in a federal indictment accusing him of violating the civil rights of several people in his agency’s custody by ordering that they be unnecessarily strapped into a restraint chair and left there for hours.

He also defended Mitzi Bickers, a former Atlanta city official was the first person to go to trial in a long-running federal investigation into corruption at City Hall under former Mayor Kasim Reed. A jury earlier this year found Bickers guilty on charges including money laundering, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit bribery. Findling said they plan to appeal.

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Trump’s bond with GOP deepens after primary wins, FBI search

Trump's bond with GOP deepens after primary wins, FBI search

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump ‘s pick for governor in the swing state of Wisconsin easily defeated a favorite of the Republican establishment.

In Connecticut, the state that launched the Bush family and its brand of compassionate conservatism, a fiery Senate contender who promoted Trump’s election lies upset the state GOP’s endorsed candidate. Meanwhile in Washington, Republicans ranging from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to conspiracy theorist Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene defended Trump against an unprecedented FBI search.

And that was just this week.

The rapid developments crystallized the former president’s singular status atop a party he has spent the past seven years breaking down and rebuilding in his image. Facing mounting legal vulnerabilities and considering another presidential run, he needs support from the party to maintain his political career. But, whether they like it or not, many in the party also need Trump, whose endorsement has proven crucial for those seeking to advance to the November ballot..

“For a pretty good stretch, it felt like the Trump movement was losing more ground than it was gaining,” said Georgia Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, who is urging his party to move past Trump. But now, he said, Trump is benefiting from “an incredibly swift tail wind.”

The Republican response to the FBI’s search of Trump’s Florida estate this week was an especially stark example of how the party is keeping Trump nearby. Some of the Republicans considering challenges to Trump in a 2024 presidential primary, such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, were among those defending him. Even long-established Trump critics like Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan questioned the search, pressing for details about its circumstances.

But even before the FBI showed up at Mar-a-Lago, Trump was gaining momentum in his post-presidential effort to shape the GOP. In all, nearly 180 Trump-endorsed candidates up and down the ballot have won their primaries since May while fewer than 20 have lost.

Only two of the 10 House Republicans who supported Trump’s impeachment after the Jan. 6 insurrection are expected back in Congress next year. Rep. Jaime Herrera-Beutler, R-Wash., who conceded defeat after her Tuesday primary, it was the latest to fall. Leading Trump antagonist Rep. Liz CheneyR-Wyo., is at risk of joining her next week.

The Trump victories include a clean sweep of statewide primary elections in Arizona last week — including an election denier in the race for the state’s official chief elections. Trump’s allies also prevailed Tuesday across Wisconsin and Connecticut, a state long known for its moderate Republican leanings.

In Wisconsin’s Republican primary for governor, wealthy Trump-backed businessman Tim Michels defeated former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, an establishment favourite. And in Connecticut, Leora Levy, who promoted Trump’s lie that the 2020 election was stolen, emerged to an unexpected victory over a more moderate rival after earning Trump’s official endorsement.

On Monday, just hours after the FBI search, Trump hosted a tele-town hall rally on his behalf. Levy thanked Trump in her acceptance speech, while railing against the FBI’s search for her.

“All of us can tell him how upset and offended and disgusted we were at what happened to him,” she said. “That is un-American. That is what they do in Cuba, in China, in dictatorships. And that will stop.”

Despite his recent dominance, Trump — and the Republicans close to him — face political and legal threats that could undermine their momentum as the GOP fights for control of Congress and statehouses across the nation this fall.

While Trump’s picks have notched notable victories in primaries this summer, they may struggle in the fall. That’s especially true in several governor’s races in Democratic-leaning states such as Connecticut and Maryland, where GOP candidates must track to the center to win a general election.

Meanwhile, several Republicans with White House ambitions are moving forward with a busy travel schedule that will take them to politically important states where they can back candidates on the ballot this year and build relationships heading into 2024.

DeSantis plans to boost high-profile Republican contenders across Arizona, New Mexico, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Former Vice President Mike Penceanother potential 2024 presidential contender, is scheduled to appear next week in New Hampshire.

On the legal front, the FBI search was part of an investigation into whether the former president took classified records from the White House to his Florida residence. While Republicans have rallied behind Trump, very few facts about the case have been released publicly. Trump’s attorneys have so far declined to release details from the search warrant.

Prosecutors in Washington and Georgia are also investigating Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election he falsely claimed was stolen. The Jan. 6 congressional commission has exposed damning details about Trump’s behavior from Republican witnesses in recent hearings, which have prompted new concerns, at least privately, among the GOP establishment and donor class.

And on Wednesday, Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination as he testified under oath Wednesday in the New York attorney general’s long-running civil investigation into his business dealings.

Trump’s legal entanglements represent a distraction at best for Republican candidates who’d rather focus on President Joe Biden’s leadership, sky-high inflation and immigration troubles to help court moderate voters and independents in the general election.

“Today, every Republican in every state in this country should be talking about how bad Joe Biden is, how bad inflation is, how difficult it is to run a business and run a household,” said Duncan, the Georgia lieutenant governor. “But instead, we’re talking about some investigation, we’re talking about Donald Trump pleading the Fifth, we’re talking about Donald Trump endorsing some conspiracy theorist.”

Trump critics in both parties are ready and willing to highlight Trump’s shortcomings — and his relationship with midterm candidates — as more voters begin to pay attention to politics this fall.

“This is, and always has been, Donald Trump’s Republican Party,” Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison said in an interview, condemning “MAGA Republicans” and their “extreme agenda” on abortion and other issues.

At the same time, the Republican Accountability Project and Protect Democracy launched a $3 million television and digital advertising campaign this week across seven swing states focused on Trump’s role in the Jan. 6 insurrection. The ads, which will run in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, feature testimonials from Republican voters who condemn Trump’s lies about nonexistent election fraud that fueled the Capitol attack.

One ad features congressional testimony from Cheney, the Wyoming Republican who has publicly declared that Trump should never hold public office again.

Still, Cheney faces her own primary election against a Trump-backed challenger next week in Wyoming. One of Trump’s top political targets this year, she is expected to lose. Anticipating a loss, Cheney’s allies suggest she may be better positioned to run for president in 2024, either as a Republican or independent.

Trump’s allies are supremely confident about his ability to win the GOP’s presidential nomination in 2024. In fact, aides who had initially pushed him to launch his campaign after the November midterms are now encouraging him to announce sooner to help freeze out would-be Republican challengers .

“It’s going to be very difficult for anyone to take the nomination away from him in 2024,” said Stephen Moore, a former Trump economic adviser who has spoken with Trump about his 2024 intentions. “He is running. That is a certainty.”

Rep. Tom Rice, RS.C., predicted that Trump would “lose in a landslide” if he sought the presidency again, adding that the former president’s overall grasp on the party is “eroding on the edges.”

“In a normal election, you’ve got to win not just the base. You’ve got to win the middle, too, right, and maybe crossover on the other side,” said Rice, who lost his recent primary after voting in favor of Trump’s second impeachment.

Rice warned that Trump far-right candidates could lead to unnecessary losses for the party in November. “Donald Trump is pushing things so far to the right,” he said in an interview.

Meanwhile, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, eyeing a 2024 bid himself, warned against making bold political predictions two years before the Republican Party selects its next presidential nominee.

“We’re sitting here in August of 2022,” Christie said in an interview. “My sense is there’s a lot of water over the dam still to come before anybody can determine anybody’s individual position in the primaries of ’24 — except to say that if Donald Trump runs, he will certainly be a factor.”

___

Associated Press writers Susan Haigh in Hartford, Connecticut, and Meg Kinnard in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed to this report.

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Trump ties may come back to haunt in swing state Wisconsin

Trump ties may come back to haunt in swing state Wisconsin

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Donald Trump reasserted his grip on Republicans in Wisconsin’s primary, but Democratic Gov. Tony Evers tried to play that against his newly minted Republican opponent Wednesday while observers said running too closely to Trump in the swing state could be dangerous.

Trump’s pick for governor, construction company co-owner Tim Michels, beat out the choice of establishment Republicans. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers said that means Michels now “owns” Trump and he won’t be able to moderate in the general election.

“His relationship with Trump is going to drive this campaign,” Evers told reporters after eating breakfast with his running mate, state Rep. Sarah Rodriguez. “Trump owns him, he owns Trump. That’s his problem with him, that’s not mine.

Michels sought to tie Evers to President Joe Biden, releasing a new TV ad the day after his win that calls them “both career politicians in way over their head.” The ad does not mention Trump’s endorsement of Michels.

Michels’ campaign adviser Chris Walker said in a statement that Evers and Biden “are going to desperately attempt to do everything they can to distract the people of Wisconsin from their massive failures.”

Michels, in his victory speech, touted himself as the voice for a working class that he said has been left behind by Democrats. Evers mocked that message, noting that Michels owns a $17 million estate in Connecticut.

“He can wear a blue shirt so that he can have a blue collar, but at the end of the day I’m not quite sure that someone of his status with houses all over the country can say ‘I’m just one of you ,’” Evers said.

Like Trump, Michels has cast himself as an outsider. Evers dismissed that too, calling it “one of the biggest jokes of this campaign.” He cited Michels’ work of him serving on the boards of powerful lobbying groups, including the state chamber of commerce.

Trump narrowly won the state in 2016 and lost by a similar margin in 2020. A Marquette University Law School poll released in May showed Trump’s favorability rating in the state at 35%, with 61% having an unfavorable opinion.

In addition to supporting Michels, Trump is a strong supporter of the Republican US Sen. Ron Johnson, who faces Mandela Barnes, the current lieutenant governor.

“Trump cuts both ways,” Republican strategist Brandon Scholz said. “While he drives his base and supporters in the primary, will that help in the general because he turns off as many people as he turns on? … I don’t think we know yet.”

Michels would be smart to focus on Biden, Evers and the issues such as inflation, crime and the economy, not Trump, said Republican strategist Mark Graul.

Evers pointed to recent polls to argue that Michels is out of step with a majority of Wisconsin residents on key issues like abortion rights and the outcome of the 2020 election won by Biden. Trump has continued to push for decertification, which attorneys from both sides and legal experts have discounted as an unconstitutional impossibility.

Michels has been inconsistent on decertification, but he does want to dismantle the bipartisan elections commission and sign bills Evers vetoed that would make it harder to vote absentee.

Trump is popular with many because he is perceived to be a fighter, but Michels needs to spread that message, said Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos. I have endorsed former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch in the primary and was targeted for defeat by Trump.

“If he is a perceived to be a fighter who gets things done, I think that will be a much more appealing general election message,” Vos said of Michels.

Michels’ win over Kleefisch, who was endorsed by Mike Pence and represented a continuation of former Gov. Scott Walker’s legacy, was the clearest victory for a Trump-backed candidate in Wisconsin. But every candidate who ran in support of decertifying Biden’s 2020 victory lost. That included the Trump-backed challenger to Vos, candidates for attorney general and secretary of state and legislative candidates seeking to unseat Republican incumbentsincluding one taking on Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu.

In the days before the election, Vos challenger Adam Steen was joined on the campaign trail by the investigator Vos hired under pressure from Trump to look into the 2020 election. That investigator, former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman, also appeared at the Trump rally.

A triumphant Vos declared his 260-vote win shows “you don’t have to be a lapdog to whatever Donald Trump says.” You called a meeting of Assembly Republicans for Tuesday to discuss the future of Gableman’s contract, which has cost taxpayers more than $1.1 million and remains subject to five pending lawsuits.

Evers said Vos must fire Gableman or “I’m fearful we’re going to be talking about this election for the next 20 years.”

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Texas Gov. Abbott dares NYC Mayor Adams to ‘make my day’ in migrant war

Texas Gov. Abbott dares NYC Mayor Adams to 'make my day' in migrant war

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott tapped into his inner “Dirty Harry” on Wednesday and publicly dared Mayor Eric Adams to “make my day” by carrying through on his threat to send New Yorkers to campaign against his re-election bid.

Abbott also vowed to keep sending busloads of asylum-seekers to New York City, saying Adams was merely “getting a taste” of what beleaguered border communities have been dealing with in the Lone Star State since President Biden took office.

Abbott’s comments on Fox News came amid his ongoing feud with Adams over migrant relocations and just hours after three charter buses hired by Abbott dropped off nearly 100 migrants outside the Port Authority terminal in Midtown Manhattan.

The transports added to almost 70 who arrived on Friday and Sunday.

In response to Adams’ threat Tuesday that he was “deeply contemplating taking a busload of New Yorkers to go to Texas and do some good, old-fashioned door-knocking” against Abbott, the Republican governor said, “You know, I kind of feels like Clint Eastwood.”

“Go ahead, Major. Make my day,” he said.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott told Major Eric Adams to "make my dad" in response to Adams' threats to send New Yorkers to Texas to campaign against him.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott told Mayor Eric Adams to “make my day” in response to Adams’ threats to send New Yorkers to Texas to campaign against him.
foxnews

The taunt echoed Eastwood’s iconic line from the 1983 movie “Sudden Impact,” in which his San Francisco detective character “Dirty Harry” faced off against a robber who was holding a coffee shop waitress at gunpoint.

Then-President Ronald Reagan also famously invoked Eastwood’s words in 1985 when he threatened to veto “any tax increase that Congress might even think of sending up.”

“And I have only one thing to say to the tax increasers: Go ahead. Make my day,” he added.

Abbott said the buses of migrants is giving Adams "to taste" of what border towns go through in Texas.
Abbott said the buses of migrants is giving Adams “a taste” of what border towns go through in Texas.
Matthew McDermott

Abbott said there “could hardly be anything better” for him than for Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke to be “aided by a bunch of New Yorkers.”

“That will not be viewed very positively by the state of Texas,” he said.

Abbott also accused Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul, both Democrats, of “rank hypocrisy” for attacking his motives for him in responding to what he calls President Biden’s “open border policies.”

“Listen, New York is a sanctuary city,” Abbott said.

A bus carrying migrants from Texas arriving at the Port Authority Bus Terminal on August 10, 2022.
A bus carrying migrants from Texas arriving at the Port Authority Bus Terminal on August 10, 2022.
AFP Photo by Yuki IWAMURA / AFP) (Photo by YUKI IWAMURA/AFP via Getty Images Getty Images

“Mayor Adams said that they welcome illegal immigrants. And now once they have to deal with the reality of it, they’re suddenly flummoxed and they cannot handle it.”

Abbott added: “They are now getting a taste of what we’re having to deal with… the challenges that Texas is dealing with every day.”

“Only when they see that will the Biden ministration begin to have to realize the Biden administration is gonna have to finally start enforcing the laws passed by Congress that secure the border,” he said.

Migrants getting off the bus in Manhattan after being driven from Texas.
Migrants getting off the bus in Manhattan after being driven from Texas.
Photo by YUKI IWAMURA/AFP via Getty Images

Adams responded during an unrelated afternoon news conference in Queens, saying of Abbott, “I know he thinks he’s Clint Eastwood, but he’s not.”

“He is an anti-American governor that is really going against everything we stand for,” Adams blasted in response to a question from The Post.

“And I am going to do everything feasible to make sure Texans, the people of Texas, realize how harmful he is to us globally.”

Adams then called Abbott a “global embarrassment.”

“Because this is not what we do as Americans,” the mayor said.

“All of us — and I’m sure if he goes into his lineage, he came from somewhere. And if his ancestors of him were treated the way he’s treating these asylum seekers and migrants, then he would not be where he is right now.

The mayor said that “without the proper coordination,” the city was “unable to receive people at one location and give them the support they deserve…but often they end up at our intake centers.”

Adams also called on New Yorkers to assist the migrants, saying that “if anyone in the city sees someone that they believe needs the assistance, we’re asking them to point them and direct them to the intake centers.

A man could be seen handing money to the migrants as they got off the bus Wednesday.
A man could be seen handing money to the migrants as they got off the bus Wednesday.
Georgette Roberts

The Biden administration quietly ended the Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” immigration policy Monday — clearing the way for potentially tens of thousands more migrants to enter the US and stay here while their applications for asylum are processed.

The Department of Homeland Security announced it would no longer enroll asylum-seekers in the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) program – which forced about 70,000 people back south of the border over the past three years to await their immigration hearings.

Abbott, who began sending migrants to Washington in April, said that “our goal is to, for one, help our local communities and in doing so send even more buses to New York, to DC and maybe even to other communities to alleviate the challenge we dealing with.”

In addition, Abbott said he wanted “to continue to expose this national catastrophe caused by President Biden.”

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Texas Gov. Abbott dares NYC Mayor Adams to ‘make my day’ in migrant war

Texas Gov. Abbott dares NYC Mayor Adams to 'make my day' in migrant war

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott tapped into his inner “Dirty Harry” on Wednesday and publicly dared Mayor Eric Adams to “make my day” by carrying through on his threat to send New Yorkers to campaign against his re-election bid.

Abbott also vowed to keep sending busloads of asylum-seekers to New York City, saying Adams was merely “getting a taste” of what beleaguered border communities have been dealing with in the Lone Star State since President Biden took office.

Abbott’s comments on Fox News came amid his ongoing feud with Adams over migrant relocations and just hours after three charter buses hired by Abbott dropped off nearly 100 migrants outside the Port Authority terminal in Midtown Manhattan.

The transports added to almost 70 who arrived on Friday and Sunday.

In response to Adams’ threat Tuesday that he was “deeply contemplating taking a busload of New Yorkers to go to Texas and do some good, old-fashioned door-knocking” against Abbott, the Republican governor said, “You know, I kind of feels like Clint Eastwood.”

“Go ahead, Major. Make my day,” he said.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott told Major Eric Adams to "make my dad" in response to Adams' threats to send New Yorkers to Texas to campaign against him.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott told Mayor Eric Adams to “make my day” in response to Adams’ threats to send New Yorkers to Texas to campaign against him.
foxnews

The taunt echoed Eastwood’s iconic line from the 1983 movie “Sudden Impact,” in which his San Francisco detective character “Dirty Harry” faced off against a robber who was holding a coffee shop waitress at gunpoint.

Then-President Ronald Reagan also famously invoked Eastwood’s words in 1985 when he threatened to veto “any tax increase that Congress might even think of sending up.”

“And I have only one thing to say to the tax increasers: Go ahead. Make my day,” he added.

Abbott said the buses of migrants is giving Adams "to taste" of what border towns go through in Texas.
Abbott said the buses of migrants is giving Adams “a taste” of what border towns go through in Texas.
Matthew McDermott

Abbott said there “could hardly be anything better” for him than for Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke to be “aided by a bunch of New Yorkers.”

“That will not be viewed very positively by the state of Texas,” he said.

Abbott also accused Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul, both Democrats, of “rank hypocrisy” for attacking his motives for him in responding to what he calls President Biden’s “open border policies.”

“Listen, New York is a sanctuary city,” Abbott said.

A bus carrying migrants from Texas arriving at the Port Authority Bus Terminal on August 10, 2022.
A bus carrying migrants from Texas arriving at the Port Authority Bus Terminal on August 10, 2022.
AFP Photo by Yuki IWAMURA / AFP) (Photo by YUKI IWAMURA/AFP via Getty Images Getty Images

“Mayor Adams said that they welcome illegal immigrants. And now once they have to deal with the reality of it, they’re suddenly flummoxed and they cannot handle it.”

Abbott added: “They are now getting a taste of what we’re having to deal with… the challenges that Texas is dealing with every day.”

“Only when they see that will the Biden ministration begin to have to realize the Biden administration is gonna have to finally start enforcing the laws passed by Congress that secure the border,” he said.

Migrants getting off the bus in Manhattan after being driven from Texas.
Migrants getting off the bus in Manhattan after being driven from Texas.
Photo by YUKI IWAMURA/AFP via Getty Images

Adams responded during an unrelated afternoon news conference in Queens, saying of Abbott, “I know he thinks he’s Clint Eastwood, but he’s not.”

“He is an anti-American governor that is really going against everything we stand for,” Adams blasted in response to a question from The Post.

“And I am going to do everything feasible to make sure Texans, the people of Texas, realize how harmful he is to us globally.”

Adams then called Abbott a “global embarrassment.”

“Because this is not what we do as Americans,” the mayor said.

“All of us — and I’m sure if he goes into his lineage, he came from somewhere. And if his ancestors of him were treated the way he’s treating these asylum seekers and migrants, then he would not be where he is right now.

The mayor said that “without the proper coordination,” the city was “unable to receive people at one location and give them the support they deserve…but often they end up at our intake centers.”

Adams also called on New Yorkers to assist the migrants, saying that “if anyone in the city sees someone that they believe needs the assistance, we’re asking them to point them and direct them to the intake centers.

Abbott's comments came after three buses dropped off nearly 100 migrants in Manhattan.
Abbott’s comments came after three buses dropped off nearly 100 migrants in Manhattan.
NY Post/Georgett Roberts

The Biden administration quietly ended the Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” immigration policy Monday — clearing the way for potentially tens of thousands more migrants to enter the US and stay here while their applications for asylum are processed.

The Department of Homeland Security announced it would no longer enroll asylum-seekers in the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) program – which forced about 70,000 people back south of the border over the past three years to await their immigration hearings.

Abbott, who began sending migrants to Washington in April, said that “our goal is to, for one, help our local communities and in doing so send even more buses to New York, to DC and maybe even to other communities to alleviate the challenge we dealing with.”

In addition, Abbott said he wanted “to continue to expose this national catastrophe caused by President Biden.”

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Rep. Scott Perry says FBI agents seized his cellphone

Rep. Scott Perry says FBI agents seized his cellphone

WASHINGTON (AP) — US Rep. Scott Perry said his cellphone was seized Tuesday morning by FBI agents carrying a search warrant.

The circumstances surrounding the seizure were not immediately known. Perry, though, has been a figure in the congressional investigation into President Donald Trump’s actions leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection.

Former senior Justice Department officials have testified that Perry, a Pennsylvania Republican, had “an important role” in Trump’s effort to try to install Jeffrey Clark — a top Justice official who was pushing Trump’s baseless claims of election fraud — as the acting attorney general.

In a statement Tuesday, Perry said three agents visited him while he was traveling Tuesday with his family and “seized my cell phone.” He called the action “banana republic tactics.”

“They made no attempt to contact my lawyer, who would have made arrangements for them to have my phone if that was their wish,” Perry said. “I’m outraged – though not surprised – that the FBI under the direction of Merrick Garland’s DOJ, would seize the phone of a sitting Member of Congress.”

The lawmaker, representing Pennsylvania’s 10th District, was cited more than 50 times in a Senate Judiciary report released in October 2021 outlining how Trump’s effort to overturn his election defeat Joe Biden brought the Justice Department to the brink of chaos and prompted top officials there and at the White House to threaten to resign.

Perry, who has continuously disputed the validity of Biden’s victory in Pennsylvania, has said he obliged Trump’s request for an introduction to Clark, then an assistant attorney general whom Perry knew from unrelated legislative matters. The three men went on to discuss their shared concerns about the election, Perry has said.

The Justice Department found no evidence of widespread fraud in Pennsylvania or any other state, and senior Justice officials dismissed Perry’s claims.

The Senate report outlined a call Perry made to then-acting Deputy Attorney General Rich Donoghue in December 2020 to say the department wasn’t doing its job with respect to the elections. Perry encouraged Donoghue to elicit Clark’s help because he’s “the kind of guy who could really get in there and do something about this,” the report said.

Perry has said his “official communications” with Justice Department officials were consistent with the law.

The Justice Department’s inspector general conducted a search in June of Clark’s Virginia home.

Perry slammed the Justice Department’s decision to serve him with a warrant as an “unnecessary and aggressive action.”

“My phone contains info about my legislative and political activities, and personal/private discussions with my wife, family, constituents, and friends,” Perry said. None of this is the government’s business.”

The seizure of Scott’s cellphone was first reported by Fox News Channel.

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FBI’s search for Trump’s Florida estate: Why now?

FBI's search for Trump's Florida estate: Why now?

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI’s unprecedented search of former President Donald Trump’s Florida residence ricocheted around government, politics and a polarized country Tuesday along with questions as to why the Justice Department — notably cautious under Attorney General Merrick Garland — decided to take such a drastic step.

Answers weren’t quickly forthcoming.

Agents on Monday searched Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, which is also a private club, as part of a federal investigation into whether the former president took classified records from the White House to his Florida residence, people familiar with the matter said. It marked a dramatic escalation of law enforcement scrutiny of Trump, who faces an array of inquiries tied to his conduct in the waning days of his administration.

From echoes of Watergate to the more immediate House probe of the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, Washington, a city used to sleepy Augusts, reeled from one speculative or accusatory headline to the next. Was the Justice Department politicized? What prompted it to seek authorization to search the estate for classified documents now, months after it was revealed that Trump had taken boxes of materials with him when he left the White House after losing the 2020 election?

Garland has not tipped his hand despite an outcry from some Democrats impatient over whether the department was even pursuing evidence that has surfaced in the Jan. 6 probe and other investigations—and from Republicans who were swift to echo Trump’s claims that he was the victim of political prosecution.

All Garland has said publicly that “no one is above the law.”

A federal judge had to sign off on the warrant after establishing that FBI agents had shown probable cause before they could descend on Trump’s shuttered-for-the-season home — he was in New York, a thousand or so miles away, at the time of the search.

Monday’s search intensified the months-long probe into how classified documents ended up in boxes of White House records located at Mar-a-Lago earlier this year. A separate grand jury is investigating efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, and it all adds to potential legal peril for Trump as he lays the groundwork for a potential repeat run for the White House.

Trump and his allies quickly sought to cast the search as a weaponization of the criminal justice system and a Democratic-driven effort to keep him from winning another term in 2024 — though the Biden White House said it had no prior knowledge and current FBI Director Christopher Wray was appointed by Trump five years ago.

Trump, disclosing the search in a lengthy statement late Monday, asserted that agents had opened a safe at his home, and he described their work as an “unannounced raid” that he likened to “prosecutorial misconduct.”

Justice Department spokesperson Dena Iverson declined to comment on the search, including whether Garland had personally authorized it. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the West Wing first learned of the search from public media reports and the White House had not been briefed in the run-up or aftermath.

“The Justice Department conducts investigations independently and we leave any law enforcement matters to them,” she said. “We are not involved.”

About two dozen Trump supporters stood in protest at midmorning Tuesday in the Florida summer heat and sporadic light rain on a bridge near the former president’s residence. One held a sign reading “Democrats are Fascists” while others carried flags saying “2020 Was Rigged,” “Trump 2024” and Biden’s name with an obscenity. Some cars honked in support as they passed.

Trump’s Vice President Mike Pence, a potential 2024 rival, tweeted Tuesday, “Yesterday’s action undermines public confidence in our system of justice and Attorney General Garland must give a full accounting to the American people as to why this action was taken and he must do so immediately.”

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell echoed Pence, saying, “Attorney General Garland and the Department of Justice should already have provided answers to the American people and must do so immediately.”

“The FBI director was appointed by Donald Trump,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., when asked about GOP allegations that the raid showed the politicization of the Justice Department. She added, “Facts and truth, facts and law, that’s what it’s about.”

Trump was meeting late Tuesday at his Bedminster, New Jersey, club with members of the Republican Study Committee, a group headed by Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana that says he is committed to putting forth his priorities in Congress.

The FBI reached out to the Secret Service shortly before serving a warrant, a third person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. Secret Service agents contacted the Justice Department and were able to validate the warrant before facilitating access to the estate, the person said.

The Justice Department has been investigating the potential mishandling of classified information since the National Archives and Records Administration said it had received from Mar-a-Lago 15 boxes of White House records, including documents containing classified information, earlier this year. The National Archives said Trump should have turned over that material upon leaving office, and it asked the Justice Department to investigate.

Christina Bobb, a lawyer for Trump, said in an interview that aired on Real America’s Voice on Tuesday that investigators said they were “looking for classified information that they think should not have been removed from the White House, as well as presidential records.”

There are multiple federal laws governing the handling of classified records and sensitive government documents, including statutes that make it a crime to remove such material and retain it at an unauthorized location. Though a search warrant does not necessarily mean criminal charges are near or even expected, federal officials looking to obtain one must first demonstrate to judge that they have probable cause that a crime occurred.

Two people familiar with the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation, said the search Monday was related to the records probe. Agents were also looking to see if Trump had additional presidential records or any classified documents at the estate.

Trump has previously maintained that presidential records were turned over “in an ordinary and routine process.” His son Eric said on Fox News on Monday night that he had spent the day with his father and that the search happened because “the National Archives wanted to corroborate whether or not Donald Trump had any documents in his possession of him. ”

Trump himself, in a social media post Monday night, called the search for a “weaponization of the Justice System, and an attack by Radical Left Democrats who desperately don’t want me to run for President in 2024.”

Trump took a different stance during the 2016 presidential campaign, frequently pointing to an FBI investigation into his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, over whether she mishandled classified information via a private email server she used as secretary of state. Then-FBI Director James Comey concluded that Clinton had sent and received classified information, but the FBI did not recommend criminal charges.

Trump lambasted that decision and then stepped up his criticism of the FBI as agents investigating whether his campaign had colluded with Russia to tip the 2016 election. He fired Comey during that probe, and though he appointed Wray months later, he repeatedly criticized him, too, as president.

The probe is hardly the only legal headache confronting Trump. A separate investigation related to his efforts by him and his allies to under the results of the 2020 presidential election — which led to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol — has also been intensifying in Washington. Several former White House officials have received grand jury subpoenas.

And a district attorney in Fulton County, Georgia, is investigating whether Trump and his close associates sought to interfere in that state’s election, which was won by Democrat Joe Biden.

___

Associated Press writers Terry Spencer, Meg Kinnard, Michelle L. Price, Lisa Mascaro, Alan Fram, Darlene Superville and Will Weissert contributed to this report.

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US

Wisconsin primary may shape elections in key battleground

Wisconsin primary may shape elections in key battleground

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Voters will choose a Republican nominee for Wisconsin governor on Tuesday who could reshape how elections are conducted in the marquee battleground, where former President Donald Trump is still pressing to overturn his 2020 loss and backing candidates he sees as allies.

Trump has endorsed businessman Tim Michels, a self-described outsider who has put $12 million into his own campaign, against former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, who has supported former Vice President Mike Pence and ex-Gov. Scott Walker. Both candidates falsely claim the 2020 election was rigged, though Kleefisch has said decertifying the results is “not constitutional,” while Michels said “everything will be on the table.”

The race to face Democratic Gov. Tony Evers is another proxy war between Trump and Pence, one-time partners now pursuing different futures for the Republican Party. They also backed opposing GOP rivals in primaries in Arizona and Georgia — swing states that like Wisconsin are expected to be critical in the 2024 presidential race, when both men could be on the ballot.

The primary comes a day after FBI agents searched Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate as part of an investigation into whether he took classified records from the White House to his Florida residence, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

In the state’s Senate race, Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes is the likely Democratic nominee to face Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, one of Trump’s most vocal supporters, after Barnes’ top rivals dropped out of the race late last month. The matchup is among the last to be set before the November general election, when control of the currently 50-50 split Senate is up for grabs, and Democrats see Wisconsin as one of their best opportunities to flip a seat.

Trump also has backed a little-known challenger to the state’s most powerful Republican, state Assembly Speaker Robin Voswho has rejected the former president’s pressure to decertify the 2020 results.

Tuesday’s outcomes have far-reaching consequences beyond Wisconsin, a state that is almost evenly split between Republicans and Democrats and where 2022 will be seen as a bellwether for the 2024 presidential race. The person elected governor this fall will be in office for the presidential election and will be able to sign or veto changes to election laws passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature. The next governor and US senator also may sway decisions on issues from abortion to education and taxes.

“We’re a 50-50 state and so every race in Wisconsin, just by definition, is going to be decided by a few percentage points one way or another,” said former Gov. Jim Doyle, to Democrat. “And those few percentage points in Wisconsin may well determine what the course of the nation is in the coming years.”

Elsewhere on WednesdayMinnesota Republicans are expected to choose Dr. Scott Jensen, a COVID-19 vaccine skeptic endorsed by the state GOP, to face Gov. Tim Walz. Vermont — the only state to never have a woman in its congressional delegation — is likely to nominate a woman for the state’s lone House seat. The winner will replace Rep. Peter Welch, who is vying for the seat held for over four decades by Sen. Patrick Leahy, who is retiring. And in Connecticut, Republicans will pick opponents to face two-term Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal.

But the most-watched races will be in Wisconsin, where Trump has kept up his pressure campaign to cancel President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory. Biden won by nearly 21,000 votes, four years after Trump also narrowly won the state by roughly the same margin. The 2020 outcome has been upheld in two partial recounts, a nonpartisan audit, a review by a conservative law firm and multiple lawsuits.

Both Michels and Kleefisch have said overturning the 2020 election results is not a priority. But they have said they would dismantle the bipartisan commission that runs Wisconsin elections and would support prohibitions on voters having someone else turn in their absentee ballots, as well as ballot drop boxes located anywhere other than staffed clerk offices.

Evers has made voting and elections a focus of his own campaign, telling voters he’s the only candidate who will defend democracy and “we are that close to not having our vote count in the state of Wisconsin.”

Kleefisch is a former TV reporter who served with Walker for two terms, including when he effectively ended collective bargaining for most public employees in the state in 2011, drawing huge protests and a failed recall attempt. She says she is the best prepared to win statewide in November and to enact conservative priorities, including investing more in police, expanding school choice programs and implementing a flat income tax.

During a campaign stop with Kleefisch last week, Pence said no other gubernatorial candidate in the US is “more capable, more experienced, or a more proven conservative.”

Michels is co-owner of Wisconsin’s largest construction company and has touted his work to build his family’s business. He lost the 2004 Senate race to Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold, and has been a major donor to GOP politicians.

At a rally on Friday, Trump praised Michels as an “incredible success story.” I have criticized Kleefisch as part of the “failed establishment” and also took aim at Vos. He told supporters that Michels will win the primary “easily” and that he’s the better choice to defeat Evers.

Michels pledged that “we are going to have election integrity here in Wisconsin.” He also said he will bring “law and order” back to Wisconsin, criticized Evers’ handling of schools and blamed Biden for rising prices.

GOP state Rep. Tim Ramthun is also making a long-shot bid for governor, and has made rescinding Wisconsin’s 10 electoral votes for Biden the centerpiece of his campaign.

In the Senate race, Barnes is the overwhelming favorite after rivals including Milwaukee Bucks executive Alex Lasry quit the race. A Milwaukee native and former state legislator who would be Wisconsin’s first Black senator, Barnes says he wants to help rebuild the middle class and protect abortion rights. A state ban on abortion took effect after the US Supreme Court in June overturned the 1973 ruling that legalized abortion nationwide.

The race against Johnson is one of a few Senate toss-ups and has already been a fight between Barnes and Johnson, a millionaire and former owner of a plastics company who was first elected as part of the tea party movement in 2010.

Barnes has attacked Johnson for supporting a tax bill that benefitted wealthy donors and his own company, touting “wild conspiracy theories” about COVID-19 vaccines and for trying to deliver ballots from fake GOP voters to Pence on the day of the Capitol insurrection.

Johnson and Republicans have criticized Barnes as too liberal for Wisconsin, noting his endorsements from progressive Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. They have resurfaced moments from Barnes’ past of him, including a photo of him holding a T-shirt that reads “Abolish ICE,” or US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Trump and Pence have split on gubernatorial candidates with mixed results. In Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp — he also rejected Trump’s pressure to overturn his 2020 loss — had Pence’s support as he defeated a Trump-endorsed challenger, former US Sen. David Perdue. But Kari Lake won the Arizona primary last week with Trump’s backing, defeating a Pence-backed candidate after saying she would not have certified Biden’s victory there.

The candidate Trump endorsed to take on Vos, Adam Steen, has said he would decertify Biden’s victory.

___

Burnett reported from Chicago.

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US

Biden signs China competition bill to boost US chipmakers

Biden signs China competition bill to boost US chipmakers

[ The stream is slated to start at 10 a.m. ET. Please refresh if you do not see a player above at that time.]

President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed a bipartisan bill that aims to strengthen US competitiveness with China by investing billions of dollars in domestic semiconductor manufacturing and science research.

“Today is a day for builders. Today America is delivering,” Biden said at the signing ceremony outside the White House. He was joined by a crowd of hundreds, including tech executives, union presidents and political leaders from both parties.

The bill, dubbed the Chips and Science Act, includes more than $52 billion for US companies producing computer chips, as well as billions more in tax credits to encourage investment in semiconductor manufacturing. It also provides tens of billions of dollars to fund scientific research and development, and to spur the innovation and development of other US tech.

The Biden administration also contended that the legislation will “unlock hundreds of billions more” in private spending in the industry. The White House said Tuesday that multiple companies, “spurred” by the chips bill, have announced more than $44 billion in new semiconductor manufacturing investments.

US President Joe Biden (C) signs HR 4346, the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on August 9, 2022.

Mandel Ngan | Afp | Getty Images

Of that sum, $40 billion is coming from Micron’s investment in memory chip manufacturing. The White House said the company’s initiative will yield 8,000 new jobs and increase the US market share of memory chip production to 10% from 2%.

A newly announced partnership between Qualcomm and GlobalFoundries, meanwhile, includes $4.2 billion in chip production as part of an expansion of GlobalFoundries’ upstate New York facility, the White House said.

Advocates say the funding is needed to sharpen America’s technological edge and reinvigorate its lagging chip industry. The US produces only about 10% of the world’s supply of semiconductors, whereas East Asia accounts for 75% of global production — including most of the top-tier chips, according to the White House.

Semiconductors are critical pieces of an array of products including consumer electronics, automobiles, health care equipment and weapons systems. The Covid-19 pandemic sparked a chip shortage and strained supply chains, highlighting America’s dependence on foreign-made chips and revealing a potential national security threat, officials say.

The signing comes as Biden and congressional Democrats cap a flurry of activity before lawmakers leave Washington for the rest of the month and turn their attention to midterm election campaigns.

Senate Democrats on Sunday passed a sweeping bill to fund ambitious climate, energy and health policies by raising taxes on rich corporations and reforming prescription drug pricing. The bill, a major piece of Biden’s agenda that Democrats had worked on for well over a year, squeaked through with no Republican support in the chamber, which is evenly split by party. Vice President Kamala Harris cast the tie-breaking vote.

In late June, Biden also signed a bipartisan bill to strengthen gun regulations, including by enhancing requirements for background checks. The legislation sped through Congress in the wake of a deadly mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, in which a single gunman killed 19 students and two teachers.

And last week, Biden revealed that a US strike in Afghanistan killed top al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri, who was considered a mastermind behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Biden is also expected to sign another bill this week that bolsters health benefits for veterans who were exposed to chemicals that billowed from toxic burn pits.

That bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support after Republicans temporarily blocked it. The move stoked outrage from some veterans’ groups, as well as comedian Jon Stewart, who emerged as a leading advocate.

Biden’s already-middling approval ratings have sunk in recent months, as global inflation and supply chain issues take a toll on Americans’ wallets at the grocery store and the gas station. His unpopularity of him, paired with a tough political map and other political headwinds, has fueled concerns among Democrats that they could suffer a route in the November midterms that results in Republicans taking control of one or both chambers of Congress.

But the latest polls show Democrats’ chances of keeping the Senate have improved, and Biden on Monday predicted that the climate and tax bill’s passage will “immediately help” in the midterms.

.

Categories
US

Biden signs China competition bill to boost US chipmakers

Biden signs China competition bill to boost US chipmakers

[ The stream is slated to start at 10 a.m. ET. Please refresh if you do not see a player above at that time.]

President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed a bipartisan bill that aims to strengthen US competitiveness with China by investing billions of dollars in domestic semiconductor manufacturing and science research.

“Today is a day for builders. Today America is delivering,” Biden said at the signing ceremony outside the White House. He was joined by a crowd of hundreds, including tech executives, union presidents and political leaders from both parties.

The bill, dubbed the Chips and Science Act, includes more than $52 billion for US companies producing computer chips, as well as billions more in tax credits to encourage investment in semiconductor manufacturing. It also provides tens of billions of dollars to fund scientific research and development, and to spur the innovation and development of other US tech.

The Biden administration also contended that the legislation will “unlock hundreds of billions more” in private spending in the industry. The White House said Tuesday that multiple companies, “spurred” by the chips bill, have announced more than $44 billion in new semiconductor manufacturing investments.

US President Joe Biden (C) signs HR 4346, the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on August 9, 2022.

Mandel Ngan | Afp | Getty Images

Of that sum, $40 billion is coming from Micron’s investment in memory chip manufacturing. The White House said the company’s initiative will yield 8,000 new jobs and increase the US market share of memory chip production to 10% from 2%.

A newly announced partnership between Qualcomm and GlobalFoundries, meanwhile, includes $4.2 billion in chip production as part of an expansion of GlobalFoundries’ upstate New York facility, the White House said.

Advocates say the funding is needed to sharpen America’s technological edge and reinvigorate its lagging chip industry. The US produces only about 10% of the world’s supply of semiconductors, whereas East Asia accounts for 75% of global production — including most of the top-tier chips, according to the White House.

Semiconductors are critical pieces of an array of products including consumer electronics, automobiles, health care equipment and weapons systems. The Covid-19 pandemic sparked a chip shortage and strained supply chains, highlighting America’s dependence on foreign-made chips and revealing a potential national security threat, officials say.

The signing comes as Biden and congressional Democrats cap a flurry of activity before lawmakers leave Washington for the rest of the month and turn their attention to midterm election campaigns.

Senate Democrats on Sunday passed a sweeping bill to fund ambitious climate, energy and health policies by raising taxes on rich corporations and reforming prescription drug pricing. The bill, a major piece of Biden’s agenda that Democrats had worked on for well over a year, squeaked through with no Republican support in the chamber, which is evenly split by party. Vice President Kamala Harris cast the tie-breaking vote.

In late June, Biden also signed a bipartisan bill to strengthen gun regulations, including by enhancing requirements for background checks. The legislation sped through Congress in the wake of a deadly mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, in which a single gunman killed 19 students and two teachers.

And last week, Biden revealed that a US strike in Afghanistan killed top al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri, who was considered a mastermind behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Biden is also expected to sign another bill this week that bolsters health benefits for veterans who were exposed to chemicals that billowed from toxic burn pits.

That bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support after Republicans temporarily blocked it. The move stoked outrage from some veterans’ groups, as well as comedian Jon Stewart, who emerged as a leading advocate.

Biden’s already-middling approval ratings have sunk in recent months, as global inflation and supply chain issues take a toll on Americans’ wallets at the grocery store and the gas station. His unpopularity of him, paired with a tough political map and other political headwinds, has fueled concerns among Democrats that they could suffer a route in the November midterms that results in Republicans taking control of one or both chambers of Congress.

But the latest polls show Democrats’ chances of keeping the Senate have improved, and Biden on Monday predicted that the climate and tax bill’s passage will “immediately help” in the midterms.

.