Andy Borowitz: Clarence Thomas Hikes Price of Supreme Court Decisions to Keep Pace with Inflation

Citing “unfortunate economic realities,” Clarence Thomas is hiking the price of Supreme Court decisions to keep up with inflation.

The jurist disclosed his new rate card in a mass e-mail sent to more than a hundred super-donors.

“I have tried to keep my prices reasonable, but, as inflation proves more stubborn than predicted, I have no choice but to adjust my rates accordingly,” he wrote.

“Sadly, the days of shredding civil rights in exchange for ten private-jet flights are over,” he added.

It remains to be seen whether the billionaires who received Thomas’s e-mail will tolerate his steeper prices or whether they will explore a budget option such as Neil Gorsuch.
https://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report

Donald Trump’s 2024 Campaign Plans Collide With Strategy to Stay Out of Jail

Donald Trump’s campaign strategy is increasingly colliding with the legal one, sapping his time and financial resources as he pursues the twin goals of winning another term in the White House and staying out of prison.

The former president says he is so politically energized by the three criminal indictments he faces that he claims he needs one more to ensure his election—a wish he could receive in the coming days from a Georgia grand jury over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

But Trump’s inflammatory attacks on prosecutors and judges are in direct conflict with his lawyers’ efforts to win him acquittals. https://www.wsj.com/articles/donald-trumps-2024-campaign-plans-collide-with-strategy-to-stay-out-of-jail-43c53342

Trump Stiffed His Co-Conspirators

Several of the attorneys who spearheaded President Donald Trump’s frenzied effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election tried, and failed, to collect payment for the work they did for Trump’s political operation, despite the fact that their lawsuits and false claims of election interference helped the Trump campaign and allied committees raise $250 million in the weeks following the November vote.

Among them was Trump’s closest ally, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani. Trump and Giuliani had a handshake agreement that Giuliani and his team would get paid by the Trump political operation for their post-election work. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/15/trump-alleged-co-conspirators-never-got-paid-by-trump-team.html

Americans are divided along party lines over Trump’s actions in election cases

The poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, which was conducted before Monday’s charges in the Georgia case, also shows that about half of Americans — 53% — approve of the Justice Department indicting Trump over his efforts to remain in office after losing the 2020 election.

The poll finds 85% of Democrats approve of the criminal charges brought Aug. 2 by Special Counsel Jack Smith, compared with 47% of independents and just 16% of Republicans. Overall, 3 in 10 Americans disapprove, including about two-thirds of Republicans. https://apnews.com/article/trump-indictment-poll-georgia-elections-b6140eed88b3153e41dbf9e008d5a21b

The Tweets Haunting Trump

Georgia’s racketeering indictment against former President Trump and 18 of his allies lists 161 overt acts allegedly committed in furtherance of a conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election.

Twelve of those overt acts are tweets sent from Trump’s account.
And we don’t even know what Special Counsel Jack Smith found in his direct messages. https://www.axios.com/2023/08/15/trump-indictment-racketeering-tweets-overturn-election-2020

No Labels on the Ballot in 10 States

A national political movement that could offer an independent presidential ticket in 2024 as an alternative to major-party nominees said Monday it has now won ballot access in 10 states, after North Carolina election officials formally granted official status to a ‘No Labels’ affiliate.

The other states are Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota and Utah. https://apnews.com/article/no-labels-bipartisan-presidential-candidate-d230dd3a3da6d78da6707c0165aa6443

Former Trump advisor blames Jews for their own deportations to Auschwitz

In a recent speech, Michael Flynn, a Christian nationalist, suggested mothers were complicit in handing over their young children to go on trains to Auschwitz. https://www.thejc.com/news/news/former-trump-advisor-blames-jews-for-their-own-deportations-to-auschwitz-6BMJn5y5XpBfAJcNGhwFpy

Florida Students Now Need Parental Permission to Use Nicknames, 'Alternate' Names Under New Ron DeSantis Rule

Florida students will now be required to get their parents’ consent before using a nickname in schools, a move that critics say targets the LGBTQ+ community and could extend well beyond, People reports.

The rule would impact everyone from students who prefer using a shorthand nickname (‘Tom’ versus ‘Thomas,’ for instance), to those who prefer a different name altogether, including transgender students (who have already been the target of numerous pieces of legislation in Florida in recent months).

But even if a transgender student did get permission from their parent to use a different name, teachers would still not be obligated to use that student’s preferred pronouns. https://people.com/florida-students-now-need-parental-permission-use-non-legal-name-7571342

New probe confirms Trump officials blocked Puerto Rico from receiving hurricane aid

The administration of former President Donald Trump obstructed an investigation looking into why officials withheld about $20 billion in hurricane relief for Puerto Rico following the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Maria in 2017, one of the deadliest U.S. natural disasters in over 100 years, a new report says. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/new-probe-confirms-trump-officials-blocked-puerto-rico-receiving-hurri-rcna749

House Oversight GOP claims they don’t need to find direct payments to Joe Biden to prove corruption in Hunter Biden business dealings memo

House Oversight Republicans laid out their intention to accuse President Joe Biden of corruption even without direct evidence that he financially benefited from Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings, a clear shift in their strategy that they said was launched to investigate the president.

The new strategy is highlighted in a memo released by the committee on Wednesday.

The memo follows the increasing drumbeat from many House Republicans – and certainly the GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump – to pursue impeachment of the sitting president even without a clear establishment of facts. https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/09/politics/house-oversight-republicans-hunter-biden/
 

House GOP will subpoena Biden family, says Republican chairman

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) said that his committee, which has been investigating the foreign business dealings of President Biden’s family members, will eventually move to subpoena the Biden family – a move Comer hinted could include the president himself.

We know that this is going to end up in court when we subpoena the Bidens. So we’re putting together a case, and I think we’ve done that very well. We’ve shown the bank records, Comer said. If I had subpoenaed Joe and Hunter Biden the first day I became chairman of the committee, it would have been tied up in court and the judge would have eventually thrown it out. … We have put together a case that I think would stand up in any court of law in America. https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4147617-house-gop-will-subpoena-biden-family-says-republican-chairman/

 

WH Torches Hunter Biden Probe In Scathing New Memo: GOP ‘Now Admit They Haven’t Uncovered Any Proof’ Implicating Biden

Today House Republicans on the Oversight Committee released another memo full of years-old news, innuendo, and misdirection – but notably missing, yet again, is any connection to President Biden.

Perhaps that is because – as recently as last week – the House Republicans’ own self-proclaimed hero witness who was going to be able to come under oath and tell us exactly what role Joe Biden played testified that President Biden never discussed these business dealings and was not involved.

This has been a pattern: time after time, Comer hypes up self-proclaimed bombshell findings about President Biden, and time after time, he fails to provide any actual evidence. Today’s release is yet another flop.

So after seven months of wasting time and millions of taxpayer dollars on their evidence-free wild goose chase, Comer is making it clear that he is shamelessly moving the goal posts. https://www.mediaite.com/news/wh-torches-hunter-biden-probe-in-scathing-new-memo-gop-now-admit-they-havent-uncovered-any-proof-implicating-biden/
 

Clarence Thomas’ 38 Vacations: The Other Billionaires Who Have Treated the Supreme Court Justice to Luxury Travel

The fullest accounting yet shows how Thomas has secretly reaped the benefits from a network of wealthy and well-connected patrons that is far more extensive than previously understood.

During his three decades on the Supreme Court, Clarence Thomas has enjoyed steady access to a lifestyle most Americans can only imagine. A cadre of industry titans and ultrawealthy executives have treated him to far-flung vacations aboard their yachts, ushered him into the premium suites at sporting events and sent their private jets to fetch him — including, on more than one occasion, an entire 737. It’s a stream of luxury that is both more extensive and from a wider circle than has been previously understood.

Like clockwork, Thomas’ leisure activities have been underwritten by benefactors who share the ideology that drives his jurisprudence. Their gifts include:

At least 38 destination vacations, including a previously unreported voyage on a yacht around the Bahamas; 26 private jet flights, plus an additional eight by helicopter; a dozen VIP passes to professional and college sporting events, typically perched in the skybox; two stays at luxury resorts in Florida and Jamaica; and one standing invitation to an uber-exclusive golf club overlooking the Atlantic coast.

This accounting of Thomas’ travel, revealed for the first time here from an array of previously unavailable information, is the fullest to date of the generosity that has regularly afforded Thomas a lifestyle far beyond what his income could provide. And it is almost certainly an undercount. https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-other-billionaires-sokol-huizenga-novelly-supreme-court
 

After a Win in Ohio, Abortion Rights Groups Are Backing Ballot Measures in 2024

Abortion-rights supporters are working to put reproductive rights directly to voters in 2024, part of an effort to boost turnout and buoy Democratic candidates after a string of state-level victories on the issue, Bloomberg reports.

On Tuesday, voters in Ohio overwhelmingly rejected a measure that would have made it harder to pass an initiative on the ballot in November that would enshrine abortion rights into that state’s constitution.

Now, advocates are backing abortion-rights ballot initiatives in the presidential battleground of Arizona. Similar efforts are underway in Florida, Maryland, Missouri, New York and South Dakota, most of which have Senate elections in 2024. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-08-09/ohio-issue-1-win-has-abortion-rights-groups-planning-2024-ballot-measures
 

House GOP weighs government shutdown escape hatch: A deal with Dems

By Sept. 30, House GOP leaders have to pass a major bipartisan spending deal or a short-term patch to keep the government open, with both options requiring cooperation from McCarthy’s hardliners. But those recalcitrant conservatives are signaling they’ll be loath to support either solution, almost certainly putting the onus on House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and his Democrats to help avert disaster.

What’s more unusual this time, though, is that Democrats will probably need to do more than simply chip in to pass a bipartisan deal or a deadline extension. They’ll have to vote to help Republicans move any agreement to the House floor. https://www.politico.com/news/2023/08/10/house-republicans-democrats-deal-00110508

More Than 1,100 Have Faced Charges Over January 6

Donald Trump last week joined more than 1,100 people who have been charged in connection with the January 6 Capitol riot, Axios reports.

By the numbers: 110 people have been found guilty at trial and about 366 have been sentenced to incarceration in connection to the attack… About 632 people have pleaded guilty to federal charges, including many who could face incarceration at sentencing. https://www.axios.com/2023/08/09/jan-6-criminal-charges-capitol-attack-riot

Republicans Face No Win Conundrum on Abortion

A decisive defeat for abortion foes in the red state of Ohio, the seventh such loss since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, has sent alarm bells ringing among some Republicans and prominent conservatives over the clear salience of the issue.

But Republican strategists face a no-win conundrum. Retreating on abortion would infuriate the majority of their base that wants to ban the procedure, while their current strategy is alienating a formidable slice of swing voters who favor some GOP positions but oppose the party’s stance on reproductive rights. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/abortion-setback-ohio-alarms-gop-democrats-see-roadmap-2024-rcna99029
 

Spiraling Legal Bills Threaten Trump With Cash Crunch

New disclosures reveal the remarkable degree to which Mr. Trump’s political and legal cash are intermingled, much like his own political and legal fate.

Mr. Trump’s complex political orbit is already spending more than it is taking in, and tapping into money it raised years ago — an unusual trajectory this far out from an election. And the burn rate raises questions about whether such an approach is untenable, or whether Mr. Trump will eventually need to dip into his own fortune to pay for his lawyers, his 2024 campaign or both. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/11/us/politics/donald-trump-legal-bills-campaign.html

Biden's new data trove boosts Dems for 2024

President Biden's campaign — racing Republicans to identify persuadable 2024 voters — is leaning into a recently developed database that includes contact information for 90% of U.S. voters, gleaned from 500 organizations during the past decade.

The database, run by an independent firm called Democratic Data Exchange (DDx), allows Democrats and allied groups — campaigns, state parties, super PACs and hundreds more — to bridge a longtime inability to share information. https://www.axios.com/2023/08/10/biden-democrats-boost-their-data-game-for-2024

How the California Governor Went From a Nuisance to a Top Biden Ally

When California Gov. Gavin Newsom sparred with Fox News’ Sean Hannity in June and touted President Joe Biden’s accomplishments directly to the person who spends an hour each night attacking them, no one loved the contentious back-and-forth more than Biden and his top aides.

Newsom – because of his ability to appear on Fox News with conservative hosts like Hannity – is now seen as one of Biden’s best surrogates heading into the next election. https://themessenger.com/politics/biden-newsom-relationship-debate-2024-presidential-election

No Place for Asa Hutchinson in the GOP Anymore

In another era, Asa Hutchinson — whose resume includes stints as a Congressman and U.S. attorney, leading roles at the DEA and Homeland Security, and two terms as a popular red-state governor — would have been a shoo-in for the first debate of a Republican primary, if not an instant contender for the nomination. You might call him the apotheosis of what comedian Bill Maher has dubbed ‘Republican Classic’: Pro-life, pro-gun, pro-free trade; anti-debt, anti-Putin, anti-coup.

But Hutchinson has struggled amid the shifting sands of his party. While policy-wise, he remains mostly in lockstep — as governor, he signed one of the country’s strictest abortion bans — he lacks the fire-breathing, troll-the-libs ethos that animates much of the modern GOP, and has displayed an occasional bipartisan streak (while leading the National Governors Association, he backed President Biden’s infrastructure bill). https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/08/11/asa-hutchinson-post-trump-republican-candidate-00110698

Biden world sees the making of a wider path to victory in 2024

Joe Biden’s team thinks his path to victory in 2024 could look an awful lot like it did in 2020. But people close to the president believe that voters’ enthusiasm about abortion rights could also unlock new roads to another term

The most straightforward route that those in Biden world see includes protecting the blue wall of Rust Belt states that were essential to his success three years ago, while preparing for repeat battles in the new swing states of Georgia and Arizona that he swiped from the Republican column. https://www.politico.com/news/2023/08/11/biden-world-2024-election-abortion-00110775

Ron DeSantis and his backers paid $95,000 to an Iowa religious leader’s group

As Florida Governor Ron DeSantis scrambles to shore up his struggling run for the Republican presidential nomination, he has spent far more than any rival on courting an influential Christian conservative leader and his following in the key early voting state of Iowa.

The DeSantis campaign, a super PAC linked to him and a nonprofit group supporting him together paid $95,000 in recent months to the Family Leader Foundation, an Iowa-based nonprofit led by evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/desantis-his-backers-paid-95000-iowa-religious-leaders-group-documents-show-2023-08-12/

How Trump Benefits From an Indictment Effect

These series of falling dominoes — call it the indictment effect — can be measured in ways that reveal much about the state of the Republican Party.

The analysis highlights Mr. Trump’s dominance over the party, revealing the years of conditioning of millions of Republican voters who view Mr. Trump’s legal troubles as a proxy attack on them. And it displays an upside-down reality where criminal charges act as political assets — at least for the purpose of winning the Republican nomination.

Said GOP pollster Tony Fabrizio: The rally around the flag is not a new phenomenon in American politics, but Donald Trump has certainly taken it to a new level. With Trump the rally around the flag happens to be about him personally. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/13/us/politics/trump-indictment-effect.html

Not That We’re Counting

Donald Trump is now facing 91 criminal charges in 4 criminal cases, CNN reports.
Trump currently has five trials scheduled between now and May, with more trial dates to be determined. https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-fulton-county-georgia-08-14-23/h_3e279320f2ba518105782f61371e030f
 

Elon Musk’s X is throttling traffic to websites he dislikes

The company formerly known as Twitter has begun slowing the speed with which users can access links to the New York Times, Facebook and other news organizations and online competitors, a move that appears targeted at companies that have drawn the ire of owner Elon Musk.
“
The delayed websites included X’s online rivals Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky and Substack, as well as the Reuters wire service and the Times. All of them have previously been singled out by Musk for ridicule or attack. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/08/15/twitter-x-links-delayed/

Biden's plan to forgive student debt for over 800,000 borrowers upheld by judge

A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit Monday from conservative groups looking to block student loan forgiveness for some 804,000 borrowers.

The decision marks a win for student loan borrowers and for President Biden, who promised to continue pursuing debt relief after the Supreme Court’s decision last month to strike down his administration’s loan forgiveness plan. https://www.axios.com/2023/08/14/student-debt-biden-lawsuit-dismissed

THE DAILY GRILL ...

We the undersigned write to request that United States Attorney David C. Weiss be extended special counsel protections and authorities to conduct the Hunter Biden investigation. — Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland on September 16, 2022. https://senatorkevincramer.app.box.com/s/nht4g40xl7bjbhycjmhjohfvcf2xuzh6

VERSUS

There may be others who would be a worse pick than U.S. Attorney Weiss to be special counsel, but based on the prosecution of Hunter Biden to date, he has got to be close to the worst pick. This is unbelievable. — Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI). https://twitter.com/SenRonJohnson/status/1690073161906237440



“This should be decided at the ballot box and not in a bunch of liberal jurisdictions trying to put the man in jail. They’re weaponizing the law.” —Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) took to Fox News last night to decry to latest indictments of Donald Trump. https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1691243829981020160

VERSUS

The problem with Graham’s argument is that it was decided at the ballot box. Trump refused to accept the results.