Hey John —

Right after it was announced that the twice-impeached, disgraced former president Donald Trump was indicted, Republicans sprang into action.

First, they issued statements of feigned indignation or issued threats via Twitter. Jim Jordan tweeted, “Outrageous.” Speaker Kevin McCarthy said, “the House of Representatives will hold Alvin Bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power to account.”

As we have witnessed before, Republicans would rather act like Trump’s defense counsel than uphold the rule of law. It’s what they did during the Russia, Ukraine, and January 6th investigations, and it is their standard playbook.

Then, they took to Fox News, Newsmax and OAN to say how “unfair” this was to the former president. They even attacked me personally, and repeatedly, as if I had something to do with Trump’s indictment.

Then, some of Trump’s ardent supporters, like Marjorie Taylor Greene, announced that they would go to New York City to protest.

Already, we know that Trump said an indictment would lead to “death and destruction,” and called on his supporters to “take our country back.” And we all know how that ended when he made similar statements in the run-up to January 6th. Let’s pray nothing like that happens again.

Here’s what may take place next (because we’ve seen this playbook before when I led Trump’s investigation and impeachment):

Jim Jordan and Kevin McCarthy are going to fire off letters and subpoenas to the Manhattan DA and his staff, demanding documents, testimony, and seeking to obstruct the trial.

If that doesn’t work, they’ll hold public hearings where they will try to use public pressure to force the Manhattan DA to slow down.

And finally, they’ll start smearing Joe Biden. If they can’t stop Trump’s legal problems, they will hope to distract the public’s attention with a fire hose of disinformation directed at the Biden family.

I’m going to be in the middle of many of these fights — now as a senior member of the Judiciary Committee. Ironically, by removing me from the Intelligence Committee, McCarthy may have allowed me to even more effectively counter their attacks on the rule of law from my new position.

And in the Senate, I will be even more effective in pushing back. Indeed, this is what Californians have come to expect of their Senators, to throw themselves into the fight, and work to protect the rule of law and uphold our democracy.

Can you chip in $10 to help me ensure that even while I’m holding Trump accountable, our campaign still is gathering the resources we’ll need to compete statewide in California? Even $3 goes a long way:

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Thanks for always having my back.

— Adam