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Trump wrote to-do lists for assistant on White House documents marked classified: Sources

One of former President Donald Trump’s long-time assistants told federal investigators that Trump repeatedly wrote to-do lists for her on documents from the White House that were marked classified, according to sources familiar with her statements. As described to ABC News, the aide, Molly Michael, told investigators that — more than once — she received […]

‘He’s 100% in’: Matt Gaetz widely expected to run for Florida governor

The idea that Rep. Matt Gaetz will run for Florida governor in 2026 has been the topic of several conversations in Tallahassee over the past few days, including during a reception Sunday night for the incoming speaker of the Florida House. Gaetz has long been considered on the shortlist of those who will try to […]

Rudy Giuliani sued by his former lawyers claiming he owes $1.4 million in unpaid legal fees

Former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani was sued Monday by his onetime lawyers in a lawsuit that says he owes $1.36 million in unpaid legal fees. Robert Costello, a partner at the law firm Davidoff Hutcher & Citron, sued Giuliani in New York Supreme Court. He and his law firm are seeking payment of legal services […]

Charlie Pierce: Elizabeth Warren Has a Few Questions About Elon Musk

Senator Professor Warren has some thoughts she’d like to share with one of her favorite BFFs: Elon Musk. She is Just Wondering about his involvement in the war in Ukraine and about whether or not Musk should be playing a role in the country’s foreign policy beyond ruining the platform on which our ambassadors share photos of […]

StephCast M 9-18-23

Boebert Claims She Was Booted from ‘Beetlejuice’ for Being ‘A Little Too Eccentric’

REP. LAUREN BOEBERT addressed the incident where she was kicked out of a Denver performance of the musical Beetlejuice, claiming in an interview with One America Newsthat she was removed from the theater for being “a little too eccentric.” That’s certainly one way of framing it. Theater surveillance footage from last Sunday shows Boebert recording […]

Drew Barrymore Reverses Plans to Resume Show Amid Heavy Backlash From Striking Writers: ‘My Deepest Apologies to Anyone I Have Hurt’

Drew Barrymore put out an apologetic statement to announce she is backing off her attempt to restart her talk show until the end of the ongoing Writers’ Guild of America strike. The actress and talk show host released her statement on Instagram, saying “I have listened to everyone” after her attempted show restart generated major […]

‘It Was My Decision’: Trump Claims Full Ownership for Directing the Effort to Overturn the 2020 Election

Former President Donald Trump assumed complete responsibility for his attempts to overturn his loss in the 2020 election. As NBC’s Kristen Welker grilled Trump on numerous issues surrounding Jan. 6, she drilled down on who the ex-president was listening to as he pushed his unsubstantiated claims that the election was corrupted by mass fraud. “The […]

House Republicans release short-term bill to avert government shutdown until Oct. 31

Key factions of the House Republican Conference reached a tentative agreement Sunday to keep the government funded temporarily and avert a shutdown scheduled for the end of the month, pairing it with a conservative border security measure, multiple GOP sources with knowledge of the agreement said. House Republicans released a bill after the far-right Freedom […]

StephCast F 9-15-23

SM Happy Hour VideoCast with Karl Frisch and JoJo From Jerz – 9-15-23

Donald Trump Sidesteps Question On Whether He’d Pardon Himself

Former President Donald Trump danced around questions as to whether he’d pardon himself if reelected next year, a clip from an upcoming NBC News interview showed. In the segment from his sit-down with “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker filmed Thursday, Trump hesitated to give her a straight answer when she asked him about the […]

McCarthy dares GOP detractors to ‘file the f—ing motion’ if they want to remove him

Frustration boiled over in a closed-door House GOP meeting Thursday morning when Speaker Kevin McCarthy all but dared his detractors to file the “motion to vacate” the speaker’s chair and try to remove him. In the meeting, McCarthy told House Republicans, “If you want to file a motion to vacate, then file the f—ing motion,” […]

UAW strikes begin as deadline passes with no agreement

At midnight, the United Auto Workers union officially went on strike against all three of the Big Three automakers. Members walked out at three plants: a GM site in Wentzville, Missouri; a Stellantis center in Toledo, Ohio; and a Ford assembly location in Wayne, Michigan. How Detroit’s Big Three automakers are fighting to dominate the […]

Hunter Biden indicted on federal gun charges

Federal prosecutors have indicted Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, on gun charges, court documents show.  Biden was indicted Thursday in federal court in Delaware on three counts tied to possession of a gun while using narcotics. Two counts accuse Biden of having completed a form indicating he was not using illegal drugs […]

StephCast Th 9-14-23

Escaped murderer Danelo Cavalcante nabbed, and how a dog named Yoda helped collar him

A fugitive who escaped from a Pennsylvania prison just days after being sentenced to life without parole in the fatal stabbing of his ex-girlfriend was captured early Wednesday after he tried to crawl away and was taken down by a law enforcement K-9 named Yoda, Pennsylvania State Police said. Danelo Cavalcante was captured at 8:14 […]

Gaetz Says McCarthy Has ‘No Real Intention’ To Impeach Biden

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) slammed House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Wednesday, saying his colleague was “never” going to impeach President Joe Biden, accusing the Republican leader of gaslighting members of his party. “He’s throwing impeachment out like an ill-cast lure with no real intention to follow through,” Gaetz said of the speaker in an […]

Sen. Mitt Romney says he will not run for re-election in 2024

Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee and an outspoken critic of former President Donald Trump, will not run for re-election next year, he said in a video statement Wednesday. “I have spent my last 25 years in public service of one kind or another. At the end of another term, I’d […]

Judge restricts Trump’s access to classified info in documents case and limits what he can say

The judge presiding over the federal criminal case alleging Donald Trump willfully mishandled national security secrets issued an order Wednesday limiting the former president’s access to the evidence and barring him from publicly discussing sensitive material. The 16-page order from U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon is largely in line with a proposal special counsel Jack […]

StephCast W 9-13-23

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un arrives for meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un has arrived at the Vostochny Cosmodrome for his planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin greeted him in front of the building. The two shook hands and walked inside. “I’m very glad to see you,” Putin said upon greeting Kim, according to RIA News, a state-run media outlet. The […]

Lauren Boebert Thrown Out Of ‘Beetlejuice’ Musical For Causing ‘Disturbance’

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) wasn’t quite ready for showtime. The conspiracy theorist lawmaker was given the boot from a touring production of “Beetlejuice” in Denver on Sunday for being disruptive, according to multiple reports. The Denver Post said three theatergoers complained that Boebert and her companion were vaping, singing, recording the performance and causing a […]

CDC recommends updated Covid shot for everyone ages 6 months and up

Everyone ages 6 months and older should get the updated Covid vaccines this fall, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday. The move follows a vote from the CDC’s advisory committee earlier in the day in favor of the recommendation. “We have more tools than ever to prevent the worst outcomes from Covid-19,” […]

Kevin McCarthy announces House will begin an impeachment inquiry into Biden

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said Tuesday he is directing three House committees to open an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden in an effort to seek bank records and other documents from the president and his son Hunter Biden. Speaking to reporters at a news conference, McCarthy said an impeachment inquiry is a “logical […]

StephCast T 9-12-23

Trump asks Judge Tanya Chutkan to recuse herself from federal 2020 election subversion case

Former President Donald Trump is asking Judge Tanya Chutkan to recuse herself from the 2020 election subversion case against him brought by special counsel Jack Smith. Trump, in a new court filing Monday, pointed to comments that Chutkan made in cases involving January 6 US Capitol rioters. He argued that there was “little doubt” that […]

In Georgia, Meadows requests emergency stay as Giuliani seeks to sever his case

Three days after losing his bid to have his Fulton County, Georgia, election interference caseremoved to federal court, former Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows on Monday filed a motion for an emergency stay with the Eleventh Court of Appeals, as well as the judge overseeing the case, asking that the order be stayed pending […]

Biden marks Sept. 11 anniversary with U.S. troops in Alaska

President Joe Biden delivered remarks for the 22nd anniversary of 9/11 at a military base in Anchorage, Alaska, on the way back to Washington from a trip to India and Vietnam. Biden spoke at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson before an audience of more than 1,000 service members, first responders and their families, a White House spokesperson […]

Trump files motions to dismiss charges in Georgia election case

Former President Donald Trump’s attorneys filed court papers Monday that marked his first attempt to get charges against him dismissed in the Georgia election interference case. Lawyers for Trump filed several motions that adopted arguments previously put forth by some of his 18 co-defendants, who have been accused of violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt […]

Charlie Pierce: The Supreme Court Has Deformed Our Politics at Every Level

Over the weekend, Heidi Przybyla of Politico blew a very loud whistle on the cozy relationship between Federalist Society puppetmaster Leonard Leo, crackpot political activist Ginni Thomas, and the carefully manufactured conservative majority on the Supreme Court of the United States in the person of Ginni’s husband, Justice Clarence Thomas. The initial revelation lies right there in the […]

StephCast M 9-11-23

Trump hearings expected in at least Florida and Georgia this week

Looking ahead: In Georgia, where Trump and 18 co-defendants face state charges for trying to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 victory, the judge schedules weekly hearings to review the many requests he is getting from defendants and prosecutors. At Thursday’s hearing, we may get more insight into when Trump will go on trial there. Sometimes lawyers […]

Anger and despair in quake-ravaged Morocco as communities wait for help

Communities near the epicenter of Morocco’s powerful earthquake were a picture of devastation and anger Sunday, as residents described using their bare hands to pull loved ones from the rubble. In most places, there was no sign of government-promised rescue teams, and there was no word yet from many villages higher up in the mountains. […]

GOP Rep. Michael McCaul slams Tommy Tuberville’s military blockade as a ‘national security problem’

The Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Sunday condemned Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s ongoing hold on hundreds of military promotions, calling it a “paralyzing” move that amounts to a “national security problem.” “The idea that one man in the Senate can hold this up for months — I understand maybe promotions, but nominations? […]

5 takeaways from Joe Biden’s trip to the G20 and Vietnam

President Joe Biden is nearing the end of a whirlwind trip to India and Vietnam for a series of high-profile meetings aimed at countering China’s influence in the developing world. At the G20 in New Delhi and again in Hanoi, Biden used his swing through Asia to make the case that the US is a […]

The Rude Pundit: Democrats Are Bitch-Slapping Republicans and It Feels So Good

I know we like to insist that Democrats are generally milquetoast and rational to a fault when they respond to the wrongs that are done to them. When Sen. Dick Durbin can praise the absolutely bullshit blue slip rule, which is not a requirement on what underwear Ted Cruz has to wear but is instead […]

SM Happy Hour VideoCast with Kimberley Johnson – 9-8-23

StephCast F 9-8-23

Ron DeSantis erupts at audience member who blamed him for the Jacksonville shooting

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis engaged in a heated argument Thursday with an audience member at a news conference who blamed him for the recent racist mass shooting that killed three Black people in Jacksonville. The news conference, which was in Jacksonville, had been scheduled to highlight Florida’s protections against Covid-related mandates. But it took a […]

Hurricane Lee intensifies to a Category 5 storm

Hurricane Lee strengthened to a major Category 5 storm Thursday night, with forecasters predicting “dangerous beach conditions” around the western Atlantic. The National Hurricane Center warned that the storm system was going to “rapidly intensify” Thursday — meaning maximum winds would surge 35 mph in 24 hours or less. In a matter of hours Thursday, […]

Fani Willis Schools Jim Jordan With Brutal Correction For His ‘Total Ignorance’

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis essentially told House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan(R-Ohio) to stay in his lane in a blunt response to his demand for documents related to her case against Donald Trump. “Your attempt to invoke congressional authority to intrude upon and interfere with an active criminal case in Georgia is flagrantly at […]

Peter Navarro Convicted Of Contempt After Defying House Jan. 6 Subpoena

Trump White House official Peter Navarro was convicted Thursday of contempt of Congress charges filed after he was accused of refusing to cooperate with a congressional investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The verdict came after a short trial for Navarro, who served as a White House trade adviser under […]

StephCast Th 9-7-23

Special counsel intends to bring indictment against Hunter Biden by month’s end, per filing

Special counsel David Weiss intends to bring an indictment against President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden by the end of this month, according to court documents filed Wednesday. The development comes a month after Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Weiss as special counsel in his investigation of the younger Biden, after a plea deal struck […]

Federal judge orders Texas to remove floating barriers aimed at deterring migrants on Rio Grande

A federal judge ordered Texas to remove floating barriers in the Rio Grandeand barred the state from building new or placing additional buoys in the river, according to a Wednesday court filing, marking a victory for the Biden administration. Judge David Alan Ezra ordered Texas to take down the barriers by September 15 at its […]

Watchdog group sues to block Trump from Colorado ballot, citing 14th Amendment’s disqualification clause

A Washington-based advocacy group filed a lawsuit on Wednesday to block former President Donald Trump from the 2024 Republican primary ballot in Colorado, citing the 14th Amendment’s ban on insurrectionists holding public office. In recent weeks, a growing number of liberal and conservative legal scholars have embraced the longshot legal strategy. The lawsuit, from Citizens […]

Georgia Judge Says Two Defendants in Trump Case Will Get Early Trial Together

Two of Donald J. Trump’s co-defendants in the Georgia election-interference case will go to trial together on Oct. 23, a judge ruled on Wednesday. The defendants, Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro, had asked to be tried separately from one another. The ruling from Judge Scott McAfee of Fulton County Superior Court, however, is contingent on […]

StephCast W 9-6-23

Court strikes down Alabama congressional map for diluting the power of Black voters

A panel of federal judges on Tuesday struck down a new congressional map created by Alabama Republicans that includes only one majority-Black district, defying a Supreme Court order. “We are disturbed by the evidence that the State delayed remedial proceedings but ultimately did not even nurture the ambition to provide the required remedy,” the three […]

Mark Meadows, John Eastman and Jeffrey Clark plead not guilty in Georgia election interference case

Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark and Trump attorney John Eastman have all pleaded not guilty to racketeering charges in the Georgia election interference case, court filings show. Meadows and Eastman filed their not guilty pleas Tuesday, while Clark’s plea was entered late Friday, the filings show. […]

N.Y. Attorney General Letitia James asks court to sanction Trump, his eldest sons and attorneys

New York Attorney General Letitia James is asking the state Supreme Court to sanction former President Donald Trump, his sons Eric and Don Jr., others related to the family business and Trump’s attorneys for a total of $20,000. Court records filed Tuesday showed that James’ office wants to sanction them because they’ve continued to raise […]

Former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio gets 22 years, longest Jan. 6 sentence yet

Enrique Tarrio, the former chairman of the far-right Proud Boys, was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison Tuesday afternoon following his conviction on a seditious conspiracy charge in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. His sentence is the longest in a Jan. 6 case so far, surpassing the 18 years […]

StephCast T 9-5-23

Charlie Pierce: Mitch McConnell Had Another ‘Episode’

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell apparently had another “episode,” this one at a political event in Kentucky on Wednesday afternoon. From NBC News: The Kentucky Republican froze in July at a news conference on Capitol Hill, going silent for 19 seconds before being escorted away from the cameras. McConnell, 81, returned shortly afterward and continued […]

Biden ramps up contrasts with Trump during Labor Day speech in Philadelphia

President Joe Biden laced a Labor Day speech Monday with several pointed attacks at former President Donald Trump, casting him as the worst jobs president since the Great Depression and mocking his reputation as a real estate mogul. “The guy who held this job before me was just one of two presidents in history … […]

Threat to ‘Move to Vacate’ McCarthy as Speaker Is Very Real, Reports CNN’s Manu Raju and Melanie Zanona

Some people get excited for pre-season football, some get amped when there’s a showdown coming in the United States House of Representatives. If a serious threat to Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) grip on his position by members of his own party is your idea of a thriller, this is the Mediaite story […]

Elon Musk Threatens to Sue the Anti-Defamation League For Defamation: ‘Looks Like We Have No Choice’

Billionaire Twitter owner Elon Musk threatened to sue the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) for defamation on Monday after he accused the organization of “destroying half the value” of his social network. “To clear our platform’s name on the matter of anti-Semitism, it looks like we have no choice but to file a defamation lawsuit against the […]

First lady Jill Biden tests positive for Covid

First Lady Jill Biden tested positive for Covid Monday night, the White House said in a statement. President Joe Biden tested negative and will continue to test at regular intervals. “She is currently experiencing only mild symptoms,” the White House said of the first lady. “She will remain at their home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.”  […]

StephCast F 9-1-23

SM Happy Hour VideoCast with Jason Selvig & Elie Mystal – 9-1-23

Trump pleads not guilty in Georgia election interference case

Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Thursday in the Georgia criminal case accusing him of racketeering and conspiracy in connection with the effort to overturn the 2020 election, according to court documents. Trump’s lawyers submitted the plea in writing and notified the court that he will not appear in person for the scheduled arraignment […]

Pro-Ron DeSantis super PAC “Never Back Down” backs down and ends door-knocking in Nevada and Super Tuesday states

Never Back Down, the super PAC backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign, has ceased its door-knocking operations in Nevada, home to a key early nominating contest, and California, a delegate-rich Super Tuesday state, officials confirmed Wednesday. They added that in recent weeks, the group also ended its field operations in North Carolina and Texas, […]

Some Republicans want more details on McConnell’s health after another freeze-up

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell released a doctor’s note Thursday saying he is “clear” to return to work after he appeared to freeze up for the second time in two months. But that isn’t satisfying Republicans who are raising concerns that McConnell, R-Ky., the longest-serving leader in Senate history, isn’t being fully transparent about his […]

Justice Clarence Thomas discloses trips paid for by billionaire Harlan Crow

Amid a renewed focus on Supreme Court ethics, conservative Justice Clarence Thomas disclosed trips that were paid for by his billionaire friend Harlan Crow, in his annual financial disclosure report Thursday. Among his activities in 2022 that he reported on, Thomas noted that Crow paid for his travel to a conservative conference in Dallas in May last […]

StephCast Th 8-31-23

In Florida, Idalia leaves a trail of destruction and a sense of relief

Tim Delaino didn’t even consider leaving his home as Hurricane Idalia approached this week. His family has been in Cedar Key, a little island city in the Gulf of Mexico, for five generations, and they have weathered dozens of storms. “People say, ‘Why don’t you leave?’ But we don’t leave for storms. We never do,” […]

Rudy Giuliani defamed former Georgia election workers, a federal judge rules

A federal judge ruled Wednesday that Rudy Giuliani defamed former Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, and is liable for damages after he failed to comply with discovery obligations in their lawsuit over his baseless claims that they committed fraud during the 2020 election. A civil trial will be held […]

Trump inflated net worth by more than $2 billion in one year, N.Y. attorney general alleges

Former President Donald Trump routinely overstated his personal net worth to financial institutions, by as much as $2.2 billion one year, New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office alleged in a filing Wednesday. The figures, tucked into a 100-page motion for partial summary judgment, are the latest details in the sweeping $250 million civil lawsuit James […]

Sen. Mitch McConnell appears to freeze again at a Kentucky event

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell appeared to freeze again Wednesday, this time during a gaggle with reporters in Covington, Kentucky, stopping for more than 30 seconds after he was asked whether he would run for re-election. McConnell, R-Ky., froze in July at a news conference on Capitol Hill, going silent for 19 seconds, before he […]

StephCast W 8-30-23

Conservatives Plot To Dismantle U.S. Government, Replace With Trump’s Vision

With more than a year to go before the 2024 election, a constellation of conservative organizations is preparing for a possible second White House term for Donald Trump, recruiting thousands of Americans to come to Washington on a mission to dismantle the federal government and replace it with a vision closer to his own. Led […]

Florida Vacation Spot Cedar Key Could Be ‘Wiped Off The Map’ When Hurricane Idalia Hits, Warns NBC Meteorologist

Cedar Key, Florida, is poised to take the brunt of Idalia when it makes landfall on Wednesday as a Category 3 or 4 Hurricane, prompting meteorologists to warn that the island city has the potential to be “wiped off the map.” “We’re really narrowing it in here,” said NBC meteorologist Bill Karins while pointing to […]

Fani Willis Wants ‘Speedy Trial’ Starting in OCTOBER For All 19 Co-Defendants in Trump Election Case

Fulton Co. District Attorney Fani Willis made a stunning request by asking the court in the Georgia fake elector case to allow her to try all 19 co-defendants, including former President Donald Trump, together beginning Oct. 23. To date, only attorneys Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell have asked for speedy trials. However, Willis wrote in […]

StephCast T 8-29-23

Charlie Pierce: The Jacksonville Dollar General Shooting Is a Reminder That Our Illusions Are Killing Us

Look, I’m just spitballing here but, over the weekend, we had a viciously, nakedly racist mass shooting in Jacksonville, Florida. A guy who decorated his firearms with swastikas, and who spent hours typing out his hatred with one hand in the half-light of his mom’s basement and in the darkness of what was left of his mind, […]

Trump Floats ‘Rumor’ DeSantis Is Dropping Out Of The Republican Presidential Primary Race

It seems like Donald Trump was in the mood to gossip on Monday. The former president used his platform Truth Social to share some “rumors” about Republican rival Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.), not long before learning his Washington, D.C., trial is set to start the day before Super Tuesday primary voting. “Rumors are strong in […]

Federal judge sets March trial date in Trump’s election interference case

The judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s election interference case in federal court set a trial date for March 4, a schedule that could have a crucial impact on the 2024 race for the White House. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan‘s decision sets the trial in the middle of the Republican presidential primaries and the […]

UNC-Chapel Hill faculty member killed in shooting that sent campus into lockdown

A University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill faculty member was killed Monday in a shooting that prompted a campuswide lockdown while officials searched for an “armed and dangerous person,” university officials said. A suspect was captured about an hour and a half after the shooting at Caudill Laboratories, and an all-clear was issued for the campus […]

Mark Meadows and Georgia DA face off over his request to move election case to federal court

Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, one of the defendants charged with racketeering in the Georgia 2020 election probe, took the witness stand for five hours Monday in an attempt to bolster his bid to move the Fulton County case to federal court. Former President Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants, including Meadows, were […]

StephCast M 8-28-23

Georgia courtroom battles begin today in next stage of Trump case

Fulton County, Ga., District Attorney Fani Willis (D) on Monday will have her first major courtroom faceoff after indicting former President Trump and 18 others in the Georgia election case. At a Monday morning hearing in Atlanta, prosecutors are set to battle with attorneys for former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, who […]

3 killed in racially-motivated shooting at Dollar General store in Jacksonville, sheriff says

Three people were killed in a shooting Saturday afternoon at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Florida, that authorities said was racially motivated. The suspect died by suicide, officials said. In a news conference Saturday evening, Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said that the suspect, described as a White man in his early 20s, entered a […]

Bob Barker, longtime ‘Price Is Right’ host, dies at 99

Bob Barker, the longtime host of television’s “The Price Is Right” who used his combination of comfort-food charm and deadpan humor to become an American television staple, has died, according to his longtime publicist. He was 99. “It is with profound sadness that we announce that the World’s Greatest MC who ever lived, Bob Barker […]

Kevin McCarthy: House impeachment inquiry into Biden is a ‘natural step forward’

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Sunday that an impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden is a “natural step forward” following Republican probes into the business dealings of the president and his family. In an interview on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” McCarthy, R-Calif., was asked whether he plans to launch an impeachment inquiry when Congress returns […]

The Rude Pundit: Two Extra Depressing Moments from the Republican Debate of the Damned

1. Honestly, the conservadouche Fox “news” moderators, Bret Baier and Martha MacCullum, could have phrased things differently at the first debate of the future losers of the Republican nomination for president on Wednesday night in Milwaukee. Baier asked for a show of hands in answer to the question, “If former President Trump is convicted in […]

StephCast F 8-25-23

SM Happy Hour VideoCast with JoJo From Jerz & Paula Poundstone 8-25-23

Trump Returns to Twitter With First Post Since January 2021 Ban

Former President Donald Trump returned to Twitter — recently rebranded as “X” — on Thursday and made his first post since January 2021, just hours after he was arrested in Fulton County, Georgia. In Trump’s first post since his Twitter ban following the January 6, 2021 Capitol riots, Trump shared the mugshot from his Thursday […]

DA Fani Willis Now Proposing October Start For Trump’s Georgia Trial

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has requested a trial start date in October for the election subversion case she brought against former President Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants in Georgia, court records show. In her request to the court Thursday, Willis noted that Trump lawyer Kenneth Chesebro, one of the defendants charged with attempting […]

‘He’s Lost 25 Pounds?’ CNN and Twitter Users Do Not Buy Trump’s Self-Reported Weight At Jail Booking

Donald Trump surrendered to authorities at the Fulton County Jail on Thursday evening, but it was his self-reported physical attributes that took center stage for CNN panelists. “Jake, as we were discussing earlier, they did provide, in the record, his height and weight, 6’3″, 215 pounds. It’s out there,” said CNN’s Abby Phillip, as other […]

Trump arrested, booked and released at Fulton County Jail in Georgia election case

Former President Donald Trump turned himself in Thursday night at the Fulton County Jail to be booked on felony charges in connection with efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia. Trump arrived at the jail shortly after 7:30 p.m. ET in a presidential-style motorcade and was booked, fingerprinted and photographed for a […]

Membership Update

StephCast Th 8-24-23

Kremlin, Wagner Group silent on Prigozhin’s fate after deadly plane crash

Russian officials and the Wagner Group are yet to officially confirm the fate of Yevgeniy Prigozhin, after an Embraer business jet listing the mercenary group chief among its passengers crashed northwest of Moscow, killing all 10 on board, according to Russia’s civil aviation agency. Once a key ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prigozhin led […]

Trump suggests in Carlson interview that U.S. could see more political violence

Former president Donald Trump suggested that the United States could see intensifying political violence, saying in a new interview that tensions in the country were reaching a boiling point. Asked by former Fox News host Tucker Carlson whether the nation is headed toward open conflict, Trump responded: “I don’t know. I can say this: There’s […]

Trump plans to turn himself in TODAY at Fulton County jail

Former President Donald Trump plans to turn himself in and be processed at the Fulton County jail on Thursday, following his agreement earlier Monday to a $200,000 bond and other release conditions. “I’ll be going to Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday to be ARRESTED,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, confirming CNN’s earlier reporting from two sources […]

Ramaswamy Seizes Spotlight as DeSantis Bores: 7 Debate Takeaways

One thing was clear when former President Donald J. Trump decided to skip the first debate of the 2024 Republican primary race: There would be a vacuum to fill. But it was not Mr. Trump’s chief rival in the polls, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, who emerged at the epicenter of the first Trump-free showdown […]

StephCast W 8-23-23

A key witness in the Trump classified docs case changed his testimony after switching lawyers, special counsel says

A key witness against former President Donald Trump and his two co-defendants in the Mar-a-Lago documents case recanted previous false testimony and provided new information implicating the defendants after he switched lawyers, special counsel Jack Smith’s office said in a new court filing. Yuscil Taveras, the director of information technology at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s club in […]

Rudy Giuliani expected to surrender in Georgia election interference case: Sources

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is expected to surrender at the Fulton County Jail on Wednesday, multiple sources told ABC News. Lawyers for Giuliani will be meeting with the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office early Wednesday to finalize a bond package before a surrender in the Georgia election interference racketeering case. Giuliani, according […]

1st Republican presidential primary debate is tonight: Who’s in, who’s out

Eight out of the more than a dozen 2024 GOP presidential candidates are confirmed by the Republican National Committee to be on the first primary debate stage on Wednesday night in Milwaukee. The four candidates who didn’t make the debate stage are attacking the RNC’s requirements and making plans for the next steps in their […]

Kevin McCarthy Threatens Impeachment Inquiry Over Biden Bank Statements

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said Tuesday that Republicans would open an impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden next month if he doesn’t hand over personal records. McCarthy said Republicans need “the bank statements, the credit card statements” that would show whether Biden had taken a bribe. “Show us where the money went. Show us: […]

StephCast T 8-22-23

Eight candidates qualify for the first Republican presidential debate

Eight presidential hopefuls officially qualified for Wednesday’s GOP presidential debate in Milwaukee, the Republican National Committee confirmed Monday night. While former President Donald Trump appeared to have met the party’s polling and fundraising thresholds, he won’t be on the stage, as he has refused to sign the RNC’s pledge to support the eventual nominee and […]

In visit to Maui, Biden vows to do ‘everything possible’ to help with recovery

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden traveled to Maui, Hawaii,on Monday to meet with residents affected by the wildfires this month, the deadliest in modern U.S. history. The president toured Lahaina, surveying the charred town where 850 people are believed to still be missing. He promised that the federal government would do all […]

Trump says he will surrender at an Atlanta jail Thursday in Georgia election interference case

Former President Donald Trump said Monday night that he would turn himself in Thursday in Fulton County, Georgia, after he was indicted on sprawling charges stemming from his efforts to hold on to office in the wake of the 2020 election. “Can you believe it? I’ll be going to Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday to be […]

Harry Litman: What makes the Georgia indictment of Donald Trump so different from all the others

The indictment that Fulton County Dist. Atty. Fani Willis unveiled Monday night offers a panoramic recapitulation of the misdeeds that former President Trump and his confederates allegedly perpetrated to unlawfully retain power in the months after the 2020 election. Its core charge against Trump and 18 other defendants is a violation of Georgia’s version of […]

Charlie Pierce: The Angry Children’s Caucus Is as Angry and Childish as You Expect

The Angry Children’s Caucus has delivered the ransom note to its primary houseboy-slash-hostage, Speaker Kevin McCarthy, and the demands are as angry and childish as one could have expected. From the Washington Post: In a statement, the ultraconservative Republicans said they will oppose a short-term extension of government funding — known as a continuing resolution — if it […]

StephCast M 8-21-23

Meadows told special counsel he could not recall Trump ever declassifying Mar-a-Lago docs: Sources

Appearing to contradict former President Donald Trump’s primary public defense in the classified documents case, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows has told special counsel Jack Smith’s investigators that he could not recall Trump ever ordering, or even discussing, declassifying broad sets of classified materials before leaving the White House, nor was he […]

Magnitude 5.1 quake rattles nerves as California endures Tropical Storm Hilary

A magnitude 5.1 earthquake followed by a series of aftershocks shook Southern California Sunday afternoon just as Tropical Storm Hilary began drenching the region with heavy rain. The quake struck at 2:45 p.m. and was centered roughly four miles southeast of Ojai in Ventura County at a depth of one kilometer, according to the U.S. […]

California store owner, mother of 9, fatally shot over a Pride flag displayed in her shop

A business owner was fatally shot Friday after someone allegedly took issue with a Pride flag she had displayed at her clothing store in Lake Arrowhead, California. Deputies responded at 5 p.m. to the shooting at the Mag Pi clothing store, where owner Laura Ann Carleton was pronounced dead, the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department said […]

Trump confirms he will skip the first GOP debate — and maybe future ones, as well

Donald Trump confirmed Sunday that he will skip the first Republican presidential primary debate Wednesday — and indicated he may not attend future ones, either. The former president wrote on his Truth Social media platform that polling shows him leading in the Republican primary field by such a wide margin that he doesn’t need to […]

The Rude Pundit: The Georgia Indictment Is a Defense of the Workers Who Make Democracy Function

One thing that comes across in the indictment of Donald Trump and the cabal of scoundrels, dregs, assholes, and Rudy Giuliani for racketeering and other crimes in Georgia is that Fulton County D.A. Fani Willis treated Trump like a criminal who happens to have been president. It’s a contrast with the indictments from Special Counsel […]

StephCast F 8-18-23

SM Happy Hour VideoCast with Richard Cheese & Politics Girl – 8-18-23

Hilary may become 1st tropical storm to make landfall in California in 84 years

Hurricane Hilary is heading toward Southern California where it is forecast to bring heavy rain, flash flooding, mudslides and gusty winds. The greater Southwest area, including Las Vegas, could also see flash flooding from this very rare event. Hilary, now a Category 3 hurricane, is gaining strength in the Pacific Ocean and is expected to […]

DeSantis debate memo urges him to defend Trump and take ‘a sledge-hammer’ to Ramaswamy

Allies of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis outlined a strategy for next week’s GOP presidential primary debate in a memo encouraging him to defend former President Donald Trump from attacks by rival Chris Christie and call upstart contender Vivek Ramaswamy “fake.” The two-page memo, written by leaders of the pro-DeSantis super PAC Never Back Down, was […]

Prosecutors seek 27 to 33 years in prison for Proud Boys guilty of seditious conspiracy

Federal prosecutors are seeking sentences of 27 to 33 years in federal prison in the cases of four Proud Boys found guilty of seditious conspiracy for their actions during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, as well as 20 years for a fifth Proud Boy found guilty on other charges. Enrique Tarrio, Joseph Biggs, Ethan […]

Trump’s legal team seeks to delay federal election interference trial until 2026

Former President Donald Trump, the front-runner in polls for the 2024 Republican nomination, is seeking to delay his federal trial on charges related to his efforts to stop the peaceful transfer of power and retain the White House following his 2020 election loss. In a court filing Thursday, Trump’s attorneys recommended starting the trial in […]

Glenn Kirschner: Trump has a lot of bad habits. But this one could potentially land him in jail

Former President Donald Trump now stands criminally indicted in four separate cases. Presently, he is on pretrial release in three of those cases, but it’s more than likely that the judge in the fourth case also decides to release him pending trial in Fulton County, Georgia. However, given a recent post in which Trump declared that a witness […]

StephCast Th 8-17-23

Appeals court upholds some restrictions on abortion pill access, but drug will remain available for now

A federal appeals court Wednesday upheld parts of a decision limiting access to a widely used abortion pill, but the ruling will have no immediate impact on the availability of the drug, mifepristone. In its ruling, a three-judge panel on the conservative-leaning 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that the Food and Drug Administration […]

Fulton County DA proposes March 4 trial date for Trump and co-defendants

The Georgia prosecutor leading the election interference case against former President Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants is looking to start the high-profile trial in early March, according to a court filing Wednesday. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis proposed a March 4 trial date preceded by arraignments the week of Sept. 5. Trump and some […]

Explosive New Footage Shows Roger Stone Hatching Trump’s 2020 Election Plot

MSNBC aired newly obtained footage on Wednesday evening showing Donald Trump ally and longtime GOP operative Roger Stone dictating what sounds a lot like the core of the plot to overturn the 2020 presidential election. In the video, Stone dictates a message saying that “any legislative body” can send their own electors to the Electoral […]

Judge Faces Death Threats, Jurors Doxxed Amid Multiple Trump Indictments

A woman in Texas was arrested Wednesday after she allegedly threatened to kill the federal judge overseeing an election interference case against former President Donald Trump. The news came just hours after media outlets reported that the purported names and addresses of grand jurors in the Georgia vote tampering indictment had been shared on far-right […]

StephCast W 8-16-23

2024 Rivals Mainly Still Unwilling To Criticize Trump Over His Many Criminal Charges

With the coup-attempting former president and 2024 Republican front-runner now at 91 felony counts across four separate indictments, his pack of rivals, with few exceptions, on Tuesday remained unwilling to use that vulnerability against him. Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), campaigning at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, told reportersthat the latest indictment from Georgia […]

Mark Meadows trying to move Fulton County case to federal court

Former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows is seeking to move the Fulton County, Georgia, prosecution against him to federal court so that he can try to get the case dismissed under federal law. Meadows argued in a new court filing submitted in the US District Court of the Northern District of Georgia […]

Ron DeSantis Wants Disney To ‘Drop The Lawsuit’ Because He’s ‘Moved On’

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is asking Disney to drop its lawsuit against him after he took away the company’s ability to self-govern an area of its Walt Disney World amusement parks in Orlando. “We’ve basically moved on,” DeSantis said in an interview with CNBC on Monday. “They’re suing the state of Florida. They’re going to […]

Special counsel sought Trump’s tweets and direct messages in search warrant

Special counsel Jack Smith’s office obtained a search warrant this year to gain access to Twitter communications, including direct messages, linked to former President Donald Trump’s account, new details about the warrant revealed Tuesday. According to a newly unsealed copy of the warrant, prosecutors sought “all content, records, and other information relating to communications sent […]

StephCast T 8-15-23

Charlie Pierce: Well, If It Isn’t an Eleventh-Hour Twist in the Georgia Trump Trial

This week’s installment of What’s My Indictment? will be taped before a live studio audience in Atlanta, Georgia. An educated guess would be that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis may have begun to soften up the ground over the weekend prior to what may be a sweeping case for the prosecution. This kind of […]

Trump Campaign Attacks Family Of Fani Willis After Indictment: ‘Steeped In Hate’

Former President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign attacked Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ “Black Panther” family on Monday after Trump was charged with 13 felonies over his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Soon after the charges were made public, the Trump campaign sent out a lengthy email titled “The Truth About […]

Georgia Prosecutor Gives Trump Until Aug. 25 To ‘Voluntarily Surrender’

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is giving former President Donald Trump and his 18 alleged co-conspirators until noon Aug. 25 to voluntarily surrender and avoid arrest, she said at a news conference late Tuesday night. Willis’ news conference came soon after a grand jury voted to indict Trump and his co-defendants, including former New […]

Hillary Clinton Promises She Gets No Satisfaction From Trump Indictment, Really

Hillary Clinton said she took no pleasure from Donald Trump’s legal troubles as a grand jury investigating the former president’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results returned an indictment Monday night in what could be his fourth set of criminal charges this year. “I don’t know that anybody should be satisfied,” Clinton, who lost […]

Trump and 18 co-defendants charged with racketeering in Georgia 2020 election probe

Former President Donald Trump and top allies, including his lawyer Rudy Giuliani and his former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, and a top former Justice Department official, Jeffrey Clark, were indicted Monday on felony charges in connection with efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia. The sweeping 41-count indictment also […]

StephCast M 8-14-23

Trump dominates Iowa State Fair while flouting traditions and awaiting another possible indictment

Former President Donald Trump seized the spotlight at the Iowa State Fair this weekend, swooping overhead in his private plane just as his chief Republican rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, was flipping pork chops and greeting potential GOP caucus-goers. The 2024 Republican presidential race played out in close quarters as Trump and DeSantis joined the […]

Death Toll From Maui Wildfire Reaches 93, Making It The Deadliest In The U.S. In More Than 100 Years.

As the death toll from a wildfire that razed a historic Maui townclimbed to 93, authorities warned that the effort to find and identify the dead was still in its early stages. The blaze is already the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century. Crews with cadaver dogs have covered just 3% of the […]

A Look Inside What Might Be The Most Sprawling Legal Case Against Donald Trump

Long before the FBI began investigating Donald Trump ’s hoarding of classified documents or Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special prosecutor to probe the former president, Fani Willis was at work. Just one month after Trump’s infamous January 2021 phone call to suggest Georgia’s secretary of state could overturn his election loss, the Fulton […]

Texts Indicate Trump’s Legal Team Is Tied To Georgia Voting Systems Breach: Report

Prosecutors investigating the attempt to overthrow the 2020 election results in Georgia have texts and emails that connect members of former President Donald Trump’s legal team to the January 2021 voting system breach in Coffee County, according to a CNN exclusive. Texts and other evidence collected by investigators in the Georgia criminal probe indicate Trump’s […]

The Rude Pundit: Why Doesn’t the Right Defend Kai Cenat’s Actions as Free Speech?

This guy, Kai Cenat, has 6.5 million followers on Twitch, including 80,000 paid subscribers, and millions more following him on YouTube. He streams himself gaming, does pranks, and basically fucks around and makes a shit-ton of money doing it. No judgment. Anyone who makes a living doing what they love, as long as it’s legit […]

SM Happy Hour VideoCast with Dean Obeidallah, John Fugelsang and Paula Poundstone 8-11-23

StephCast F 8-11-23

Dean Obeidallah: How much more violence does Trump need to incite before judges will stop this?!

On Tuesday, I published an article titled, “Trump wants another MAGA terrorist attack—and alarmingly he may get it.” On Wednesday, we saw an alarming example of MAGA violence in Utah when a MAGA extremist died in a shootout with FBI agents who were attempting to arrest him for threats he made to kill President Biden—as well as Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg and […]

Judge To Hear Arguments In Protective Order Fight In Trump’s 2020 Election Conspiracy Case

The federal judge overseeing the 2020 election conspiracy caseagainst Donald Trump will hear arguments Friday over a request by prosecutors for a protective order seeking to bar the former president from publicly disclosing evidence shared by the government. The protective order sought by special counsel Jack Smith’s team has become an early flashpoint in the […]

Lawmakers Urge ‘Corrupt As Hell’ Clarence Thomas To Resign After New Revelations

Democratic lawmakers are calling out Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomasafter new revelations from ProPublica that he’s taken at least 38 luxury trips paid for by wealthy benefactors. Some say the case illustrates the need for ethics reform on the Supreme Court. “This is a shameless lifestyle underwritten for years by a gaggle of fawning […]

Maui Wildfire Death Toll Rises To 55; Governor Says Lahaina Looks Like ‘Bomb Went Off’

Officials announced Thursday that the death toll from wildfires on Maui now stands at 55, making it one of the deadliest blazes in the last century. The new fatality count is a significant jump from the 36 confirmed dead on Wednesday, a day after the fire ignited, sending the historic Hawaiian tourist destination town of […]

GOP Oversight Chairman Comer vows to subpoena the Biden family

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, who is leading the investigation into Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings, said Thursday his panel plans to subpoena members of the Biden family, including possibly President Joe Biden. “This is always going to end with the Bidens coming in front of the committee. We are going to subpoena the […]

StephCast Th 8-10-23

At Least 36 People Have Died In Fires Burning Through Hawaii, County Reports

At least 36 people have died in the Lahaina fire in Hawaii, Maui County wrote in a statement posted to the county website Wednesday evening. Wildfires, whipped by strong winds from Hurricane Dora passing far to the south, took the island of Maui by surprise, leaving behind burned-out cars on once busy streets and smoking […]

Trump says he won’t sign the loyalty pledge required for first GOP debate

Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that he would not sign a loyalty pledge required by the Republican National Committee for participation in the first GOP debate this month. During a Newsmax interview, Trump said that he took issue with a particularly clause of the pledge that says the candidate will support the eventual […]

Trump wants the Justice Department to set up a secure facility where he can discuss materials he allegedly mishandled

Donald Trump’s lawyers on Wednesday asked a federal judge in Florida to order the government to “re-establish” a secure facility at his Mar-a-Lago resort where they could safely discuss the national security documents prosecutors say he illegally kept there. In a court filing to U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon, Trump attorneys Todd Blanche and […]

Utah Man Who Allegedly Made Threats Against Biden Fatally Shot During FBI Home Raid

A Utah man was fatally shot after FBI agents raided his home in connection to death threats he allegedly made against President Joe Biden and other political figures. Craig Robertson was killed Wednesday morning during a home raid in Provo, multipleoutlets reported. In a statement, the FBI said agents attempted to serve an arrest and […]

StephCast W 8-9-23

Ron DeSantis replaces his campaign manager as he reboots his presidential bid

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is shaking up his campaign leadership, bringing in James Uthmeier, his longtime chief of staff, as his new presidential campaign manager, the latest move in a reset that is now almost a month in the making. Out is Generra Peck, who was DeSantis’ campaign manager through his 2022 re-election and during […]

Three men charged with assault in Montgomery riverfront brawl

Three Alabama men are facing misdemeanor assault charges after a group of white men attacked a Black dockworker on Saturday during a brawl involving multiple people along the Montgomery Riverfront. Montgomery Police Chief Darryl J. Albert announced assault charges against Richard Roberts, 48; Allen Todd, 23; and Zachery Shipman, 25. At a news conference Tuesday, […]

Judge in Trump election case sets hearing for arguments about what evidence can be publicly disclosed

The judge presiding over Donald Trump’s election case has ordered attorneys from both sides to meet in court Friday to discuss proposed restrictions on what the former president can publicly disclose about evidence gathered in the investigation. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan had ordered special counsel Jack Smith’s office and Trump’s lawyers to pick a […]

In a win for abortion-rights supporters, Ohio voters reject Issue 1

Ohio voters overwhelmingly rejected a Republican-backed ballot measure Tuesday that would make it harder to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution, delivering a major win for reproductive rights supporters. Issue 1 asked voters to decide whether to raise the threshold of support required for future state constitutional amendments to 60%. Currently, just a majority […]

StephCast T 8-8-23

‘Of course he lost’: Ron DeSantis rejects Trump’s 2020 election claims

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Sunday rejected Donald Trump’s claim that he was the true winner of the 2020 presidential election in his most forceful comments to date on the matter. “Whoever puts their hand on the Bible on Jan. 20 every four years is the winner,” DeSantis told NBC News correspondent Dasha Burns in […]

Judge tosses Trump’s counterclaim against E. Jean Carroll, finding rape claim is ‘substantially true’

A federal judge in New York on Monday dismissed Donald Trump’s countersuit against E. Jean Carroll, the writer who won a $5 million verdict against the former president for battery and defamation this year. Trump filed his counterclaims against Carroll in June, alleging she defamed him by continuing to say publicly that he’d raped her […]

Trump Lawyers Fight Order That Would Limit What He Can Say About Jan. 6 Evidence

Former President Donald Trump’s attorneys asked a federal judge to reject a proposed protective order in the government’s election conspiracy case, claiming the effort to limit any public release of evidence would restrict his First Amendment rights. Special counsel Jack Smith’s team first asked U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan on Friday to issue a protective […]

Chris Christie Names The Trump Insider He Thinks Secretly Flipped

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Donald Trump should be very worried about a close member of his inner circle from his final year in office. “I’ve said all along I think Mark Meadows is already a cooperating witness,” Christie told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Monday. “He has all the looks of a cooperating […]

StephCast M 8-7-23

If Trump committed ‘a technical violation of the Constitution,’ it’s not a crime, his lawyer says

If former President Donald Trump committed a “technical violation of the Constitution,” it doesn’t mean he necessarily broke any criminal laws, John Lauro, Trump’s criminal defense attorney, argued Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Lauro appeared to signal how he’d defend the former president in a trial that will stem from the four-count criminal indictment […]

Trump Flips Out In Hellishly Bizarre New Social Media Meltdown: ‘I Wasn’t Scared’

Donald Trump seems to have hell on his mind. The former president invoked the perpetual flames of the underworld in two separate rants on Sunday against Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and the U.S. women’s national soccer team. Early in the day, he launched his attack on the former House speaker, who on Friday said Trump […]

Pence Avoids Saying Whether He Would Support Trump As 2024 GOP Nominee

Former Vice President Mike Pence, whose friction with Donald Trump has recently taken the spotlight, declined to say on Sunday whether he would support the thrice-indicted ex-president should he become the Republican nominee in the 2024 election. Pence, who is also running for president in the 2024 election, has continued growing more vocal about his […]

Justice Department requests protective order in Trump election interference case to limit his public comments

The Justice Department has asked a federal judge overseeing the criminal case against former President Donald Trump in Washington to step in after he released a post online that appeared to promise revenge on anyone who goes after him. Prosecutors on Friday requested that U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan issue a protective order concerning […]

The Rude Pundit: New Trump Indictment… Trump Didn’t Give a Solitary F*** About Anyone But Himself

One thing that has always bugged the shit out of me with the reaction of Donald Trump, who really was president of the United States for a weird, fucked-up period of time, to the results of the 2020 election. It’s something that has bugged lots of people and it’s something that others have said but […]

SM Happy Hour Videocast with Allison Gill & Noel Casler – 8-4-23

StephCast F 8-4-23

Trump Reportedly ‘Irked’ That Arraignment Judge Didn’t Address Him as ‘Mr. President’

Former President Donald Trump was reportedly “irked” that the judge during his arraignment on Thursday did not address him as a former president. “I’m learning tonight that Trump left here in a sour and dejected mood,” said CNN host Kaitlan Collins on Thursday after Trump pleaded not guilty to four charges to Judge Moxila Upadhyaya […]

Tennessee Democrats expelled by GOP over protests win back their seats

The two Democratic state representatives in Tennessee who wereexpelled by Republicans in April for protesting in support of gun safety on the chamber floor won elections Thursday night for their old seats, The Associated Press projected. Justin Jones won his election for his state House seat in Nashville, and Justin J. Pearson won his race […]

What to know about the Trump ‘fake electors’ scheme in the 2020 election

At the heart of the latest federal indictment of former President Donald Trump is a scheme to use “fake electors” to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The strategy attempted to find a way to undermine the Electoral College after state officials refused to change the election results. Here’s a look at what happened: The process […]

Trump pleads not guilty to charges that he broke the law by trying to overturn the 2020 election

Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guiltyThursday to charges that he engaged in criminal conspiracies aimed at subverting the 2020 presidential election results and keeping himself in power — a significant moment in one of the most consequential tests of the U.S. Constitution and its criminal justice system. Trump was arraigned on an indictment charging […]

StephCast Th 8-3-23

William Barr Blasts Claims That Trump Indictment Violates First Amendment

Former Attorney General William Barr on Wednesday rejected arguments that Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election amounted to free speech, saying the government had a “legitimate” case following Tuesday’s indictment of the former president. Trump was indicted by a federal grand jury in connection with his attempts to remain in power after […]

Mike Pence Torches Trump And ‘His Gaggle Of Crackpot Lawyers’

Former Vice President Mike Pence responded angrily on Wednesday to former President Donald Trump’s claim that all he wanted on Jan. 6, 2021, was for Pence to request a delay in the 2020 election certification. Pence said it was “completely false” that Trump only asked him to “pause the vote counting,” as Trump’s attorney claimed […]

‘Not a shock’: Trump world shrugs off charges of defrauding America

It was just another Tuesday for former President Donald Trump. He golfed at his club in Bedminster, New Jersey, chatted with staff and club members there and was relatively nonchalant as he awaited something that is becoming a part of his new reality: being indicted. Special counsel Jack Smith on Tuesday unsealed an indictmentagainst Trump […]

Trump to appear in federal court to face 2020 election charges

Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to appear in a Washington, D.C. courtroom Thursday afternoon to answer charges that he used “unlawful means” in an attempt to subvert the results of the 2020 presidential election and hold on to power. Trump will be arraigned on an indictment charging him with conspiracy to defraud the United […]

StephCast W 8-2-23

Trump Campaign Compares Indictment In Jan. 6 Investigation To Nazi Germany

Former President Donald Trump’s campaign responded to his latest indictment on Tuesday by saying these “fake charges” amount to “election interference” and comparing the investigation to Nazi Germany. The campaign’s remarks came after a federal grand jury charged Trump based on the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and his attempt to remain […]

Mike Pence Says Trump Indictment Shows ‘Our Country Is More Important Than One Man’

Former Vice President Mike Pence took direct aim at his onetime boss, former President Donald Trump, for actions Trump took to try to stay in office that led to the four-count federal indictment unveiled Tuesday. “Today’s indictment serves as an important reminder: anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be President of the […]

Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell appear to be among alleged Trump co-conspirators

The remarkable third indictment of former President Donald Trump returned by a federal grand jury on Tuesday includes six, un-named, un-indicted co-conspirators. But it also contains clues to their identities. Five of the six alleged co-conspirators, based on details provided in transcripts of testimony to the Jan. 6 Committee and other records, appear to be: […]

Special counsel charges Trump with conspiracy to defraud the U.S.

Former President Donald Trump was indictedTuesday on charges he conspired to defraud the country he used to lead and attempted to prevent the peaceful transfer of presidential power to Joe Biden.  “The purpose of the conspiracy was to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election by using knowingly false claims of election fraud […]

StephCast T 8-01-2023

Witness Touted By GOP Provides No Link To Biden Criminality, House Democrat Says

Two hours of testimony from a former associate of Hunter Biden’s failed to turn up dirt on President Joe Biden, according to Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.). Republicans had hoped an interview with Devon Archer, who partnered in business with the president’s son, would help them connect Hunter Biden’s wheelings and dealings to acts of corruption […]

Trump’s legal woes are costing his political operation millions of dollars

Former President Donald Trump’s legal woes may not be eating into his lead among GOP primary voters, but they’re costing his political operation millions of dollars. Trump’s Save America PAC has spent more than $20 million on legal fees alone — doling out payments to more than 40 different law firms — in the first […]

Charlie Pierce: Judge Colleen McMahon Deserves Thanks For What She Did on Thursday

There are those of us who have been wary of the FBI ever since the 1960’s, and for good goddamn reasons, too, but who also are deaf to the fulminations of the former president* and his acolytes in the Congress, because he’s as crooked as a dog’s hind leg, and they’re all thooleramawns of the […]

StephCast M 7-31-23

Donald Trump Calls Jack Smith ‘Deranged,’ Denies Security Tape Tampering Claims

Donald Trump cried “prosecutorial misconduct” again this weekend while denying new allegations from federal prosecutors, who say the multiply indicted former president and his team tried to destroy surveillance footage from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. “MAR-A-LAGO SECURITY TAPES WERE NOT DELETED,” Trump declared in an all-caps rantposted to Truth Social on Sunday. “THEY WERE […]

Trump team launching legal defense fund to help pay legal bills

Former President Donald Trump’s team is launching a legal defense fund aimed at helping to handle the onslaught of legal bills the former president and his allies face as the investigations into him mount, sources familiar with the matter tell ABC News. On Sunday, ABC News reported that a super PAC supporting Trump spent more […]

Newly indicted Trump employee doesn’t have a Florida lawyer ahead of his first court date

The Mar-a-Lago property manager charged in a new indictment alongside Donald Trump in the alleged mishandling of classified government documents after the former president left office has not secured a Florida-based lawyer ahead of his first court appearance Monday. Carlos De Oliveira, 56, is set to appear before a magistrate judge Monday in Miami to […]

Donald Trump’s defamation lawsuit against CNN over ‘the Big Lie’ dismissed in Florida

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit Donald Trump filed against CNN in which the former U.S. president claimed that references in news articles or by the network’s hosts to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election as “the Big Lie” was tantamount to comparing him to Adolf Hitler. Trump had been seeking punitive damages of $475 million in […]

The Rude Pundit: Because of Florida’s Stop WOKE Act, You Couldn’t Teach Much of Florida’s African American Education Standards

It should have been so fucking easy for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is always angry that a non-white person might be happy and wondering how he can ruin that. When he was asked about the social studies standards released by the Florida Department of Education last week, in particular the one that read that […]

SM Happy Hour Video Podcast with Jen Kirkman & JoJo From Jerz 7-28-23

StephCast F 7-26-23

Third Defendant Charged In Trump’s Classified Documents Case

Prosecutors have charged a third person, maintenance worker Carlos De Oliveira, in the case concerning classified documents that former President Donald Trump took from the White House to his Mar-a-Lago estate, according to court filings Thursday. Trump and his aide Walt Nauta were charged in the case last month, and both pleaded not guilty. De […]

Tim Scott rebukes Ron DeSantis over Florida Black history standards about slavery

Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, the only Black Republican in the Senate, rebuked Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday for new public school standards that teach that some Black people benefited from slavery because it taught them useful skills. “As a country founded upon freedom, the greatest deprivation of freedom was slavery. There is […]

GOP senators express anxieties about Mitch McConnell’s health — and what comes next

Some Republican senators harbor concerns about Mitch McConnell’s health, saying they have personally witnessed changes in the minority leader, 81, after he fell and sustained a concussion in March. Publicly, Senate Republicans are rallying around McConnell, R-Ky., sending him their support and well-wishes. None are calling on him to step down, and the senators who […]

Trump faces additional charges in Mar-a-Lago documents case

Former President Donald Trump faces new chargesin connection with his post-presidency handling of classified documents after the special counsel filed a new indictment Thursday. The federal indictment, filed in the Southern District of Florida, alleges that Trump was part of a scheme to delete security video and that a newly charged defendant — who was […]

StephCast Th 7-27-23

Trump teams prepare for possible Thursday grand jury vote

Donald Trump’s legal and political teams are preparing for the possibility that the federal grand jury will vote on charges against the former president as early as Thursday, according to three sources familiar with the thinking of his inner circle. Trump said July 18 on his social media platform that he was notified that he […]

Mitch McConnell escorted away from cameras after freezing during a news conference

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell suddenly stopped speaking during a weekly Republican leadership news conference Wednesday afternoon, appearing to freeze, and then went silent and was walked away. McConnell, R-Ky., had been making his opening remarks about an annual defense policy bill when he stopped talking. He was silent for 19 seconds. His Republican colleagues […]

Sinéad O’Connor, Irish singer who rose to fame with ‘Nothing Compares 2 U,’ dies at 56

Irish singer Sinéad O’Connor has died at age 56.  “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinéad. Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time,” O’Connor’s family said in a statement to The Irish Times and the BBC. A cause of death […]

Hunter Biden pleads not guilty after plea deal is derailed

Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to federal tax charges Wednesday after a plea deal he struck with the government unraveled when the judge raised questions about the terms of the agreement. The surprise development came at a hearing in federal court here at which Biden had been expected to plead guilty to two charges of […]

StephCast W 7-26-23

Republicans in Congress Seek to Block Hunter Biden’s Plea Deal

On the eve of Hunter Biden’s court appearance to enter into a plea deal for misdemeanor tax crimes that would allow him to avoid prison time, House Republicans and conservative groups sought to intervene in the case, urging a judge to throw out the agreement he reached with prosecutors. The highly unusual legal maneuvering — […]

Prosecutors Follow Multiple Strands as Jan. 6 Indictment Decision Looms

Even as the special counsel, Jack Smith, appears to be edging closer toward bringing charges against former President Donald J. Trump in connection with his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, prosecutors have been continuing to investigate multiple strands of the case. In recent weeks, Mr. Smith’s team has pushed forward in collecting new evidence […]

Federal Judge Blocks Biden Administration’s New Asylum Policy

A federal judge struck down on Tuesday a stringent new asylum policy that the Biden administration has called crucial to its efforts to curb illegal crossings along the U.S.-Mexico border. The ruling was a blow to the White House, which has seen unlawful entries plunge since the new policy was put in place in May. […]

Biden honors Emmett Till and his mother with new national monument

President Joe Biden signed a proclamation Tuesday to establish the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument. Till, the Black 14-year-old who was lynched in 1955 after he was accused of whistling at a white woman in Mississippi, became a symbol of the Civil Rights Movement. His murder highlighted the racism and brutality faced by […]

StephCast T 7-25-23

Former U.S. Attorney Spots ‘Main Signal’ Next Trump Indictment Is Coming

Legal analyst and former U.S. attorney Harry Litman on Monday said he believes “the table is set” for the imminent indictment of Donald Trump in special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the former president’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election result and his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection. “There’s one main signal,” Litman told […]

Justice Department sues Texas over a floating barrier in Rio Grande intended to deter migrant crossings

The Justice Department on Monday filed a lawsuit against Texas and its Republican governor for placing buoys in the Rio Grande as part of the state’s effort to deter migrants from crossing into the United States. The civil suit said Gov. Greg Abbott violated federal law by installing the barrier and asked a judge to […]

Jan. 6 rioter who assaulted officer with flagpole sentenced to 4 years in prison

A Jan. 6 rioter who repeatedly struck a police officer with a flag pole as the officer was being dragged down the steps of the Capitol was sentenced Monday to more than four years in federal prison. Peter Stager, a 44-year-old truck driver from Arkansas, was sentenced to 52 months in prison by U.S. District […]

Former Giuliani colleague turns over thousands of pages to special counsel on 2020 election

The lawyer who represents former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik has turned over thousands of pages of documents to special counsel Jack Smith’s office as part of the federal investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The attorney, Tim Parlatore, said Monday that he submitted the records to Smith’s office on […]

Charlie Pierce: It Takes Some Major Cojones to Defy the Supreme Court, But Alabama Is Doing It

You have to be impressed by the big, clanging brass ones demonstrated by a state legislature that won’t take an order from the Supreme Court for an answer. From The Hill (via News5 Mobile): While Alabama’s population is 27 percent Black, just one of the state’s seven districts is majority-Black. In a 5-4 decision in June, the Supreme Court affirmed a […]

StephCast M 7-24-23

Ron DeSantis says the Jan. 6 attack ‘was not an insurrection’

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis downplayed the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol on Friday, saying that the deadly day was not an insurrection.   “It was not an insurrection,” DeSantis told comedian Russell Brand in an interview on his streaming show “Stay Free with Russell Brand.” “These were people that were there to attend […]

Mike Pence says he’s not convinced Trump’s Jan. 6 actions were criminal

Former Vice President Mike Pence, a Republican presidential contender, said Sunday that Donald Trump’s actions leading up to the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, were “reckless” but that he’s “not yet convinced” they were crimes. “While his words were reckless, based on what I know, I am not yet convinced that they were criminal,” […]

7 Republican presidential candidates meet polling criteria for first RNC debate

Seven Republican presidential candidates have, as of Sunday, met the polling requirements to appear on the August debate stage following new polling from Fox Business in Iowa and South Carolina. Former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former Vice President Mike Pence, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, South Carolina […]

‘Barbie’ Takes The Box Office Crown And ‘Oppenheimer’ Soars In A Historic “Barbenheimer” Weekend

“Barbenheimer ” didn’t just work – it spun box office gold. The social media-fueled fusion of Greta Gerwig’s “ Barbie ” and Christopher Nolan’s “ Oppenheimer ” brought moviegoers back to the theaters in record numbers this weekend, vastly outperforming projections and giving a glimmer of hope to the lagging exhibition business, amid the sobering […]

The Rude Pundit: Marjorie Taylor Greene’s District Owes a Lot to the New Deal and the Great Society (profanity free for the kids)

Not to educatorsplain things to Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, the enthusiastic genital displayer from Georgia’s 14th District, but during her speech last weekend at one of those endless streams of conservative conferences that seem to be as frequent as a new Marvel thing, she went off, oddly, on how Joe Biden’s policies were helping people. “Joe […]

SM Happy Hour VideoCast with Frangela, Travis, and Jody – 7-21-23

StephCast F 7-21-23

The passing of a Lockport matriarch who helped loved ones influence a nation

We lost the “sweetest girl in Lockport” the other day. She was 100. Stephanie Wagner Miller died in North Carolina early last Friday. She was married to William E. Miller for 40 years, until his death, in 1983. She lived on for 40 years more, and now will be interred next to him at Arlington […]

StephCast Th 7-20-23

StephCast W 7-19-23

Georgia GOP’s legal bills for ‘alternate’ Trump electors top $500K: report

The Georgia Republican Party spent more than $500,000 in the first half of this year representing “alternate” electors under investigation by local authorities in connection with Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The party has spent more than $520,000 in legal fees in the first six months of this […]

Judge in Trump classified documents case tells prosecutors that a mid-December trial date would be too soon

US District Judge Aileen Cannon signaled she is likely to push back the start of a trial in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case beyond the mid-December date proposed by federal prosecutors – but appeared deeply skeptical of arguments from Donald Trump’s lawyers that he couldn’t get a fair trial while running for president. During the […]

Michigan attorney general charges fake Trump electors over alleged 2020 election crimes

Michigan’s attorney general on Tuesday criminally charged 16 so-called “fake electors” for former President Donald Trump, accusing them of a fraudulent effort to reverse President Joe Biden’s victory in the state’s 2020 election. The 16 people each face eight charges, including conspiracy, election law forgery, and uttering and publishing, state Attorney General Dana Nessel said […]

Trump Says He’s Target in Special Counsel’s Investigation Into Jan. 6

It would be the second time the special counsel has notified the former president that he is likely to face indictment, this time in connection with the criminal investigation of the Capitol attack. Former President Donald J. Trump has been informed that he could soon face federal indictment for his efforts to hold onto power […]

StephCast Tu 7-18-23

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Screen Actors Guild Votes To Strike After Studio Negotiations Crumble

The Screen Actors Guild — the union representing tens of thousands of Hollywood performers — voted Thursday to strike after negotiations with film and TV studios fell apart. “The strike will begin at midnight tonight, and all of us — union members, leadership and staff — will be out on the picket lines tomorrow morning,” […]

Biden White House goes after Republicans over Tuberville’s military blockade

The White House is amping up pressure on Republicans over Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s blockade on hundreds of promotions for military officers, apparently seeking to make the GOP pay a price with voters if he persists, according to a new memo first obtained by NBC News. In the memo addressed to “Interested parties,” the White House […]

Secret Service ends White House cocaine investigation with no leads

The mystery of who brought cocaine into the White House remains unsolved. The Secret Service investigation has concluded with no usable forensic or video evidence identifying the person responsible, three Secret Service officials familiar with the investigation said. The small plastic baggie with a powdered substance — which was found in a storage cubby at […]

Special counsel opposes Trump effort to delay classified docs trial until after 2024 election

Special counsel Jack Smith is opposing former President Donald Trump’s request to delay the trial over his alleged mishandling of classified documents until after the 2024 election. In a court filing Thursday, the special counsel’s legal team rejected the defendants’ argument that a fair trial couldn’t be convened ahead of the presidential election. Prosecutors cited […]

StephCast Th 7-13-23

No Labels snags Sen. Joe Manchin for event, stoking talk of presidential run

Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) plans to headline an event in New Hampshire next week sponsored by the bipartisan group No Labels, a move that has stoked speculation that he could mount a third-party presidential bid in 2024 that Democrats fear could be damaging to President Biden. Manchin is scheduled to appear Monday at the […]

House Republicans Criticize F.B.I. in Contentious Hearing

Republicans bombarded Christopher A. Wray, the F.B.I. director, on Wednesday with criticisms about his role in investigating former President Donald J. Trump, efforts to address extremist violence and the bureau’s electronic surveillance practices during a contentious House Judiciary Committee hearing. Committee Republicans, led by the chairman, Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, treated Mr. Wray as […]

Hollywood actors set the stage for strike action after contract negotiations fail

Hollywood actors could soon have a new role: picketers. Thousands of screen performers represented by the powerful labor union SAG-AFTRA, which stands for the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, are on course for strike action after the guild and a trade association representing the industry’s leading studios could not agree on […]

Biden vows U.S. and allies ‘will not waver’ in defense of Ukraine

President Joe Biden promised Ukraine that its Western partners would not back away from its defense in a speech Wednesday after two days of high-stakes meetings with leaders at a NATO summit. Speaking before a heaving crowd on a bright Wednesday evening, Biden said that “the defense of freedom is not the work of a […]

StephCast W 7-12-23

Top general warns U.S. military will lose talent because of GOP blockade on promotions

A Republican senator’s blockade on hundreds of military promotions could inflict widespread damage on troops and their families and prompt some to leave the armed forces, President Joe Biden’s nominee for chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told lawmakers on Tuesday. “We will lose talent” because of the problems caused by the block on […]

Georgia grand juries impaneled as Trump probe decision looms

A Georgia judge on Tuesday seated two grand juries that are likely to be tasked with deciding whether to bring election interference charges against former President Donald Trump and his allies. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has said she plans to announce charging decisions stemming from an investigation into “possible criminal interference in the […]

Trump Legal Filing Lays Out Campaign Rationale: Keep Me Out Of Jail 2024

Though his campaign slogan is still “Make America Great Again,” Donald Trump’s new legal filing seems to suggest another motto: Keep Me Out of Jail 2024. Critics have argued for over a year that the coup-attempting former president’s efforts to regain his office are as much about painting his prosecutions as politically motivated as they […]

Freedom Caucus members won’t say if Marjorie Taylor Greene has been booted

Returning from a two-week recess, House Freedom Caucus members refused to say Tuesday whether they had kickedRep. Marjorie Taylor Greene out of the group of conservative hard-liners. “I don’t discuss that,” said Freedom Caucus Chairman Scott Perry, R-Pa. “I don’t talk about membership at the Freedom Caucus,” added a Greene rival, Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo. […]

StephCast T 7-11-23

StephCast M 7-10-23

SM Happy Hour VideoCast with Barb McQuade & Hal Sparks – 7-7-23

StephCast F 7-7-23

StephCast Th 7-6-23

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StephCast F 6-30-23

Biden slams SCOTUS affirmative action decision: ‘Discrimination still exists in America’

President Joe Biden on Thursday blasted the Supreme Court ruling setting new limits on affirmative action as a “severe disappointment,” saying, “we cannot let this decision be the last word.” “The court has effectively ended affirmative action in college admissions and I strongly, strongly disagree with the court’s decision,” Biden said, adding that “the court […]

Parkland shooting verdict: School security officer Scot Peterson acquitted over failure to confront gunman

A Florida jury on Thursday cleared a former school security officer who was charged over his failure to confront a gunman who massacred 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018, in an emotional trial that left bitter feelings on both sides. Scot Peterson, who was a Broward County sheriff’s deputy and worked as a […]

Supreme Court rejects race-based affirmative action in college admissions

The Supreme Court on Thursday held that race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina violate the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection, a historic ruling that rolls back decades of precedent and will force a dramatic change in how the nation’s private and public universities select their students. The votes split along […]

Judge Says Trump Can’t Claim Presidential Immunity To Dismiss Defamation Suit

A federal judge rejected former President Donald Trump’s effort to dismiss writer E. Jean Carroll’s defamation suit against him on Thursday, saying his claims of absolute presidential immunity were not a “get out of damages liability free card.” U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in New York issued a lengthy ruling after Trump’s attorneys attempted to […]

StephCast Th 6-29-23

Salvaged debris from Titan submersible contains ‘presumed human remains’: US Coast Guard

Debris recovered from the submersible that catastrophically imploded while on a voyage to see the Titanic wreckage last week contained “presumed human remains,” the U.S. Coast Guard said. Salvaged pieces of the Titan vessel were unloaded from the Canadian ship Horizon Arctic at the Canadian Coast Guard pier in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Wednesday morning. The […]

Madonna hospitalized with bacterial infection; upcoming tour delayed

Madonna, 64, is delaying her upcoming tour as she recovers from a “serious bacterial infection” that had her hospitalized, her manager said Wednesday. The pop star had a “several day stay” in the intensive care unit after she developed the infection Saturday, her manager Guy Oseary said in an Instagram post. A source close to […]

Biden pushes vision for economic growth ‘from the middle out and bottom up’

President Joe Biden touted his economic agenda Wednesday amid low polling numbers on his job performance and the direction of the country. In remarks at Chicago’s Old Post Office building, Biden railed against the economic approach of his predecessor, Donald Trump. “The trickle-down approach failed the middle class. It failed America,” Biden said. “I knew […]

StephCast W 6-28-23

Arraignment for Trump aide Walt Nauta rescheduled after flight canceled due to storms

Walt Nauta, an aide charged alongside former President Donald Trump for the alleged mishandling of classified documents from the White House, had an arraignment hearing rescheduled after his flight to Florida was canceled due to storms. Nauta had been set to be arraigned on Tuesday, but the judge postponed the date after Nauta did not […]

Supreme Court rejects unchecked state legislature power over federal election rules

The Supreme Court on Tuesday delivered a strong rejection of a controversial legal theory that threatened to upend state election laws nationwide and give state legislatures unchecked power over federal election rules in the case Moore v. Harper. In a 6-3 decision, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, the Supreme Court sided with a group […]

Justice Department Interviews Rudy Giuliani Over Role In 2020 Election Scheme: Reports

Rudy Giuliani has been interviewed by federal investigators as part of a special counsel investigation into the efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, according to multiple reports. CNN first reported Tuesday that Giuliani, who acted as a private attorney for Donald Trumpand was instrumental in the former president’s efforts to remain in power despite […]

Trump Now Says Recording Was Merely ‘Bravado,’ He Didn’t Show Secret Documents

Former President Donald Trump said Tuesday that a recording of him talking about sensitive military documents amounted to just “bravado” and claimed he did not show off anything classified when he said on the tape that he was handling “highly confidential” and “secret information” in front of guests. Trump made the comments to Semafor and […]

StephCast T 6-27-23

Kevin McCarthy Threatens Impeachment For Merrick Garland Over Hunter Biden

Republicans in the House of Representatives could impeach Attorney General Merrick Garland over an allegation that the Justice Department stifled criminal charges against Hunter Biden. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said Sunday the allegation would be “a significant part” of an impeachment inquiry if an IRS whistleblower’s claims pan out. Federal prosecutors in Delaware announced […]

Blockbuster Supreme Court decisions to come on student loans, affirmative action and more

The Supreme Court has left this term’s blockbuster decisions for last, with rulings expected this week on student loans, affirmative action and more. The justices will hand down their next round of opinions on Tuesday at 10 a.m. ET. There are 10 total cases remaining from the term that began back in October. Their rulings […]

Secret Service agents testified before Jan. 6 grand jury: Sources

Agents from the United States Secret Service have testified before the grand jury investigating the events of Jan. 6, 2021, a source familiar with the situation confirmed to ABC News. Agents provided testimony as part of the grand jury’s probe into whether there were any crimes committed during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. […]

In newly released audio recording, Trump is heard discussing classified document he says he held onto

ABC News has obtained an audio recording of former President Donald Trump appearing to acknowledge he held onto a sensitive military document after leaving office — but can no longer declassify it because he is no longer president. The contents of the recording, made during a July 21, 2021, meeting at Trump’s Bedminster, New Jersey, […]

Charlie Pierce: Greg Abbott Is Finding New Ways to Make Texas Borderline Unlivable

Not to put too fine a point on it but, at the moment, the state of Texas is bordering on being unlivable. It’s so bad that the National Weather Service is resorting to pep talks. From the Washington Post: “Sadly, temps are going to creep back upward next week, too. Sorry, y’all. We’re gonna get back to our […]

StephCast M 6-26-23

The Rude Pundit: This Pride Month, They’re Trying to Drag Everyone Back Into the Closet

On Friday in NYC, the annual Drag March for Pride Month got under way in Tompkins Square Park. It was the expected array of fabulous, fantastic, and/or delicious people decked out in outrageous finery, crossing and uncrossing gender lines. The march is the cause of the latest right-wing freak out over a perceived LGBTpocalypse because […]

Maggie Haberman Reports Trump is Siphoning Off Campaign Cash Into a PAC That’s Been Paying His Legal Bills

In the past, Donald Trump has wanted the American public to cover him for his legal bills. Now a new report says he’s doing that by taking the money for his legal expenditures from his 2024 presidential campaign. New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Shane Goldmacherpublished a story on Sunday about Trump’s online fundraising, […]

Prosecutors ask to delay Trump’s classified documents trial until December

Prosecutors from special counsel Jack Smith’s office have requested that former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial for alleged mishandling of classified documents be delayed until December, according to a court filing on Friday. Earlier this week, Judge Aileen Cannon set a trial date for Aug. 14 and estimated that the court proceedings would take two […]

On anniversary, Harris says Roe v. Wade reversal created a ‘health care crisis’

In a speech Saturday marking the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade, Vice President Kamala Harris condemned conservative justices for creating a “health care crisis in America.” “How dare they?” Harris, the first female vice president, asked a crowd in Charlotte, North Carolina. She also criticized abortion bans that have been passed in […]

Russian Mercenaries’ Revolt Undermines Putin, Could Lead To More Challenges

For the first time in his more than 20-year rule, President Vladimir Putin’s power appeared to hang in the balance this weekend. And even though the rebellious Russian mercenary forces who descended on Moscow have turned back, Putin will struggle to project the image of a man in total control that he once did. That […]

JoJo From Jerz: When you think like a Republican, it all becomes clear who is to blame here

A Titanic-bound submersible tragically imploded nearly 2 miles deep in the ocean of the mid-Atlantic. All five people aboard were killed. “The pattern of the debris suggests that at some point in the Titan’s journey there was a leak. It was so deep in the sea by then that the amount of water above it […]

SM Happy Hour VideoCast with Noel Casler & JoJo from Jerz – 6-23-23

StephCast F 6-23-23

Poll: 61% of voters disapprove of Supreme Court decision overturning Roe

On the anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling that overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, 6 in 10 voters remain opposed to the court’s removing federal protection of the right to abortion, according to results from a new national NBC News poll. Nearly 80% of female voters ages 18-49, two-thirds of suburban women, […]

IRS agent tells House committee there was meddling with Hunter Biden case

A former IRS employee told the House Ways and Means Committee that U.S. Attorney David Weiss sought authority to charge Hunter Biden in two federal districts with charges broader than the tax-related misdemeanors the president’s son agreed this week to plead guilty to, according to a 212-page transcript of his interview. The whistleblower, Gary Shapley, […]

All killed after missing Titanic sub suffered ‘catastrophic implosion’

The search-and-rescue mission for the underwater vessel that went missing while descending to the wreckage of the Titanic ended Thursday with the discovery of the craft’s destroyed parts on the ocean floor and the conclusion that its five occupants were killed, the Coast Guard said. The submersible vessel underwent a “catastrophic implosion,” Rear Adm. John […]

Rep. George Santos’ $500K bond was guaranteed by his father and his aunt

The father and an aunt of Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., guaranteed his $500,000 bond after he was charged last month with more than a dozen federal counts, a source familiar with the matter confirmed Thursday. The congressman’s father, Gercino Dos Santos, and Elma Santos Preven, his aunt, were the suretors for the bond. They did […]

StephCast Th 6-22-23

Missing Titanic submersible updates: Coast Guard searching where noise was detected

The search is intensifying for a submersible carrying five people that vanished while heading to tour the Titanic wreckage site off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. The 21-foot deep-sea vessel, operated by OceanGate Expeditions, lost contact about an hour and 45 minutes after submerging on Sunday morning with a 96-hour oxygen supply. That oxygen is […]

Republicans Defend Justice Samuel Alito After Another Ethics Bombshell Drops

Republicans are waving off ethics questions surrounding another Supreme Court justice, Samuel Alito, after it was revealed that he accepted an undisclosed trip from a GOP megadonor who had business before the court. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Wednesday that Congress should “stay out” of the court’s business after ProPublica reported that the […]

Republicans decide to forgo Biden impeachment vote after internal fighting

In a de-escalation of internal GOP tensions, House Republicans are now aiming to refer a Biden impeachment resolution to two committees instead of holding an immediate voteon impeaching the president. The House will vote Thursday to send a resolution offered by Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., to the Homeland Security and Judiciary committees. By forgoing the […]

Republicans take the rare step of censuring Rep. Adam Schiff over Trump-era probes

The House took the rare step Wednesday of censuring one of its own members, Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, over his criticisms of then-President Donald Trump and his role in leading the first impeachment inquiry into the former president. The 213-209 party-line vote came exactly one week after a similar effort to censure Schiff, D-Calif., was […]

StephCast W 6-21-23

HUGE Ethics Questions Arise About SCOTUS Justice Alito

Conservative Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito on Tuesday published a commentary in The Wall Street Journal defending himself from questions about his ethical conduct raised in a yet-to-be published article by news outlet ProPublica. The commentary on the WSJ website addressed what Alito referred to as “charges” by journalists from ProPublica that he had failed […]

Judge strikes down Arkansas ban on transition care for minors

A federal judge struck down an Arkansas law Tuesday that would have banned transition-related medical care for transgender minors, declaring it unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge James Moody Jr. of the Eastern District of Arkansas overturned and permanently blocked the law from taking effect, writing that it violates the First Amendment and the equal protection and […]

Missing Submersible: Rescuers Detect ‘Underwater Noise’ in Search Area and Redirect Efforts

A Canadian surveillance aircraft looking for the missing Titan submersible and the five people on board in the North Atlantic has “detected underwater noises in the search area,” the U.S. Coast Guard said early Wednesday. The Coast Guard said in a brief statement on Twitter that remote-operated vehicles were still searching for the Titan. Officials […]